Biomedical subjects

A R Lang

Publications and source records attributed to A R Lang.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Alcohol affects emotion through cognition.

Determining how, cognition and emotion interact is pivotal to an understanding of human behavior and its disorders. Available data suggest that changes in emotional reactivity and behavior associated with drinking are intertwined with alcohol's effects on cognitive processing. In the study reported here, we demonstrated that alcohol dampens anticipatory fear and response inhibition in human participants not by directly suppressing subcortical emotion centers, as posited by traditional tension-reduction theories, but instead by impairing cognitive-processing capacity. During intoxication, reductions in fear response (assessed via startle potentiation) occurred only under dual-stimulus conditions, and coincided with reduced attentional processing of threat cues as evidenced by brain response (assessed via P3 event-related potentials). The results are consistent with higher cortical mediation of alcohol 's effects on fear, and illustrate more broadly how disruption of a cognitive process can lead to alterations in emotional reactivity and adaptive behavior.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Verbal and nonverbal fluency in children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure.

OBJECTIVE: Executive function deficits, including verbal fluency, have been documented in children with histories of prenatal alcohol exposure. Whereas nonverbal fluency impairments have been reported in adults with such exposure, these abilities have not been tested in children. Deficits in both verbal and nonverbal fluency were predicted and assessed in children and adolescents with histories of heavy prenatal alcohol exposure. METHOD: There was a total of 28 (54% female) subjects; children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure with (n = 10) and without (n = 8) fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) were compared to nonexposed controls (n = 10) on the design and verbal fluency measures from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System. Both fluency measures consist of three conditions, including a new set-shifting task. All tests require the generation of multiple responses within both rule and time constraints. RESULTS: Data were analyzed using repeated measures analyses of variance and hierarchical regression analyses. Compared to controls, children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure with and without FAS displayed deficits in both fluency domains, but did not differ from each other. In addition, prenatal alcohol exposure was a significant predictor of performance on the set-shifting design fluency task above and beyond performance on more traditional fluency tasks. IQ was not a significant predictor for the traditional or set-shifting fluency measures, whereas diagnostic group remained a significant predictor when IQ was included in the model. CONCLUSIONS: This study adds to the literature on the integrity of executive functions in children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure, documenting fluency impairment in both verbal and nonverbal domains. It is important to note that these impairments were demonstrated in higher functioning alcohol-exposed children, both with and without FAS, and that diagnostic group explained such deficiencies above and beyond general intellectual ability.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Expectations of alcohol-induced positive affect: a cross-cultural comparison.

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to investigate the extent to which positive affect is a cross-culturally expected result of drinking alcohol. This first required development of a quantitative estimate of positive affect on a common scale, an essential step neglected in previous comparative research on alcohol expectancies. METHOD: Approximately equal numbers of male and female respondents (N = 1,008; 521 women) from eight countries were asked to complete a survey inquiring about emotional and behavioral responses they expect people to experience after consuming alcoholic drinks, and about limited aspects of their own drinking habits. Multisample latent covariance structure analysis with means was applied to the data and a cross-culturally invariant model of positive affect was extracted. RESULTS: The latent construct for positive affect that emerged was defined by manifest "interpersonal warmth or closeness," "pleasure of social interactions" and "optimism." There were significant national differences in means for this factor, and self-reported drinking frequency was also marginally related to expected positive affect. CONCLUSIONS: Multisample latent covariance structure analysis with means proved a useful tool capable of addressing critical problems in comparative cross-cultural research. In addition, there were indications that the expectation of increased positive affect associated with drinking may be influenced by contextual factors and cultural traditions, making positive affect less easily attributable to the direct pharmacological action of alcohol consumption than has previously been believed.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Effects of alcohol intoxication on parenting behavior in interactions with child confederates exhibiting normal or deviant behaviors.

Experimental analogue methods were used to study how acute alcohol intoxication in parents influences their perceptions of and reactions to child behaviors, as well as their strategies for management of those behaviors. All participating parents had a grade school-aged son, but in half the cases this target child had a diagnosed externalizing disorder, whereas for the remaining half neither the target son nor any other offspring of the parents evidenced any psychopathology. Equal numbers of married fathers, married mothers, and single mothers from each of these groups received either alcoholic or nonalcoholic beverages prior to videotaped interactions with male child confederates who, depending on condition, enacted behaviors characteristic of either normal boys or boys with attention deficit hyperactivity/conduct/oppositional defiant disorders (ADHD/CD/ODD). Results indicated that intoxicated parents rated their ADHD/CD/ODD child partners as less deviant than did sober parents. Alcohol intoxication caused all participant groups to exhibit less attention and productive work and more commands, indulgences, and off-task talk in the interactions. Implications for better understanding of the role of psychosocial factors in the correlation between adult drinking problems and childhood behavior disorders are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Approaching avoidance. A step essential to the understanding of craving.

Craving is only one component of the mental processes that influence drinking behavior. Alcohol-related cues (ARCs) can set in motion a dynamic competition between inclinations to approach drinking and inclinations to avoid drinking. Craving can thus be integrated into a comprehensive model of decision-making in which ambivalence or conflict is a key element. The relative strength of each component of the ARC reaction can fluctuate over time as well as in response to both subjective states and environmental circumstances. Simultaneously and independently evaluating these opposing responses puts clinicians in a better position to influence the relative weight that the patient assigns to the positive and negative outcomes of alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed1999

Can your children drive you to drink? Stress and parenting in adults interacting with children with ADHD.

Several publications in the psychological literature support the theory that children are a major source of stress for their parents. Not surprisingly, parents of children with behavior problems--particularly children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)--experience highly elevated levels of daily child-rearing stresses. Children with ADHD disregard parental requests, commands, and rules; fight with siblings; disturb neighbors; and have frequent negative encounters with schoolteachers and principals. Although may investigations have dealt with parenting stress caused by disruptive children, only a handful of studies have addressed the question of how parents cope with this stress. Those findings are presented, including a series of studies assessing parental distress and alcohol consumption among parents of normal children and ADHD children after the parents interacted with either normal- or deviant-behaving children. Those studies strongly support the assumption that the deviant child behaviors that represent major chronic interpersonal stressors for parents of ADHD children are associated with increased parental alcohol consumption. Studies also have demonstrated that parenting hassles may result in increased alcohol consumption in parents of "normal" children. Given these findings, the stress associated with parenting and its influence on parental alcohol consumption should occupy a salient position among the variables that are examined in the study of stress and alcohol problems.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Alcohol and fear-potentiated startle: the role of competing cognitive demands in the stress-reducing effects of intoxication.

Effects of alcohol and cognitive demands on reactions to threat were examined using startle response potentiation to index negative emotion. Men and women received nonalcoholic or alcoholic beverages prior to a series of trial blocks, signaled by light cues indicating that shocks might be delivered ("threat" blocks) or that none would occur ("safe" blocks). Within half of the blocks, participants intermittently viewed pleasant photographic slides. Alcohol attenuated overall startle reactivity, but robust fear potentiation (larger startle magnitudes and shorter latencies during threat versus safe blocks) did not differ by beverage condition. Decomposition of the Beverage x Threat x Slide interaction revealed significant fear potentiation in all conditions, except the one in which alcohol was combined with slides. Thus, dampening of stress response by alcohol may depend on diminished ability to process competing cognitive demands.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMed1998

Effects of deviant child behavior on parental alcohol consumption. Stress-induced drinking in parents of ADHD children.

Distress and ad lib alcohol consumption after interactions with child confederates were investigated in parents of children with externalizing disorders--attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder (CD), or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Sixty subjects interacted with boys trained to act like either normal children or children with ADHD/CD/ODD. Interactions with deviant confederates resulted in feelings of inadequacy and produced negative affect but had no effect on alcohol consumption. Post hoc analyses showed that parents with a family history of alcohol problems (FH+) showed increased drinking after interaction with a deviant confederate, compared with FH+ parents who interacted with the normal confederate. FH- parents showed the opposite pattern of results.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Effects of deviant child behavior on parental distress and alcohol consumption in laboratory interactions.

Levels of adult distress and ad lib alcohol consumption following interactions with child confederates were investigated in parents of children with no diagnosable psychiatric disorders. Sixty parents (20 married couples and 20 single mothers) interacted with boys trained to enact behaviors characteristic of either normal children or "deviant" children with externalizing behavior disorders--attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), conduct disorder (CD), and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD). Relative to the normal child role, interactions with deviant confederates were rated as significantly more unpleasant, resulted in feelings of role inadequacy, and produced significantly more anxiety, depression, and hostility. After the interactions, parents were given the opportunity to drink as much of their preferred alcoholic beverage as they desired while anticipating a second interaction with the same child. The participants consumed more alcohol following exposure to deviant as opposed to normal confederates.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Alcohol expectancies and drinking characteristics in parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Alcohol expectancies, drinking characteristics, and their association were examined in 587 adults: 431 parents of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 156 parents of children without ADHD. In addition to examining both traditional and parenting-specific alcohol expectancies for these adults, risk variables cutting across the two groups were considered: single parenthood and male gender. Few differences in mean expectancy levels were found between parents of children with and without ADHD, between single and married mothers, and between men and women. Furthermore, expectancies did not predict drinking differently across groups. However, there was some support for the utility of assessing parental expectations of alcohol's effects on interactions with children, and there were robust and interesting effects of socioeconomic status on expectancies and drinking. Single mothers also reported consuming higher quantities of alcohol than married mothers. Findings are discussed in terms of the link between ADHD and alcoholism, the ability of alcohol expectancies to explain drinking differences between high risk groups, the effect of socioeconomic status on these variables, and single motherhood as a vulnerability factor for increased drinking.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1996

Reticulography: a simple and sensitive technique for mapping misorientations in single crystals.

Interposition of a fine-scale X-ray absorbing mesh between a Laue-diffracting crystal specimen and the photographic plate recording its topographic image splits the diffracted beam into an array of individually identifiable microbeam elements. Direction differences between the microbeams in the array, which are twice the orientation differences between the crystal elements reflecting them, are measured by recording the array at two or more mesh-to-photoplate distances. Maps of misorientation vectors over the crystal lattice planes under examination can be derived from these array images by visual or digital electronic metrological procedures. Applications to two specimens widely different in diffracting properties are described. Angular size of the X-ray source is the principal instrumental factor setting misorientation detection limits, and was less than 1 arc second in this work.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1996

Applications of synchrotron radiation to defect characterization and pendellösung fringe-spacing measurement in a natural diamond.

A small polished rectangular block of natural diamond unusually free from impurity zoning was examined by birefringence and synchrotron X-ray topography to map internal defects and assess effects of some accidental mechanical damage. ;Orthogonal-view' projection topographs facilitated comparisons between optical and X-ray images. Speedy and precise positioning of crystal sections cut in synchrotron X-ray section topographic studies was aided by radiographic and fluoroscopic procedures, which are described. Several X-ray reflection and refraction phenomena are illustrated, including high-contrast refraction images of crystal edges, chipping and crack outcrops. It was demonstrated that by combining optical and X-ray goniometry it was possible to record Pendellösung fringe systems employing precisely selected X-ray wavelengths in well defined crystal volumes. Valuable gain in fringe visibility resulted from the use of pure sigma-mode polarized synchrotron radiation. Absolute values of the diamond 004 structure factor were derived from five fringe systems measured, the findings (in upward order) being 11.7, 11.7, 12.0, 12.5, 12.6. Their scatter greatly exceeds the uncertainty in the measurement procedure (believed to be within +/-1%) and is attributed to different strain distributions within the five volumes sampled.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1996

Beyond stress and arousal: a reconceptualization of alcohol-emotion relations with reference to psychophysiological methods.

In this review, the authors examine how psychophysiological research might better contribute to understanding the effects of alcohol on human emotion. They propose that future studies would benefit from greater use of contemporary theories of emotion that emphasize a dimensional structure of affective expression, incorporating the parameters of emotional arousal and emotional valence. Evidence suggests that, although alcohol exerts an overall dampening effect on arousal, it appears to modulate emotional response through its effects on higher order associative processes rather than at the level of primary brain motivational systems. They discuss methodological implications of this multidimensional, multilevel approach and suggest that alcohol-induced physiological changes need to be investigated as dynamic response patterns rather than isolated events tied to solitary measures.

Affect↗

PubMed1995

Alcohol and human emotion: a multidimensional analysis incorporating startle-probe methodology.

The effect of alcohol intoxication on emotional response was investigated using a model of emotion that includes both arousal and valence dimensions. Thirty-six university students were exposed to multiple presentations of photographic slides selected to elicit distinctive emotional reactions ranging from very pleasant to very unpleasant; half of them received a moderate (approximately .75 ml/kg) dose of ethanol. The students' psychophysiological responses indicated that both general startle reactivity and autonomic indices specific to emotional arousal were diminished by alcohol. However, the affective modulation of startle, occurring with emotional states manipulated by slides with distinct valences, remained intact. These findings suggest that "stress-response dampening" by alcohol may involve a nonspecific attenuation of arousal reactions evident for positive as well as negative stimuli and that theories of motivation for drinking that are based on mood alteration may need refinement.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed1994

The alcohol-aggression stereotype: a cross-cultural comparison of beliefs.

University students (N = 1,008) in eight countries participated in a survey aimed at mapping cross-cultural alcohol expectancies. Multisample structured means analysis was applied to compare changes in aggressive behaviors believed to occur in connection with drinking after "many" alcoholic drinks. Most subjects expressed the belief that intoxication was associated with greater aggressiveness, but there were significant national differences unrelated to self-reported alcoholic beverage preference, frequency of drinking to intoxication, or rates of personal involvement in episodes of alcohol-related aggression. Thus, the expectation that drinking leads to aggression may be determined to a significant extent by contextual factors and cultural traditions related to alcohol use.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

Children and alcohol.

The literature on what, when, and how young children learn about alcohol and drinking is critically reviewed and key issues are highlighted. Available evidence points to recognition of alcohol, identification of drinking norms and rules, formation of attitudes toward drinking and drinkers, and appreciation of some of the consequences of alcohol consumption as early as the preschool years. Understanding of drinking motives appears to require a level of cognitive development that is not present until about 10 to 12 years of age, although there is a dearth of research on this probably crucial determinant of later decisions to drink. Among the factors involved in the acquisition of alcohol cognitions and dispositions are observational learning via families, media, and peers as well as personal drinking experience. Salience of alcohol and its management in the child's immediate environment appears to be an important moderator/mediator of learning. Application of relevant theory to understanding the development of the meaning of alcohol and drinking in preadolescent children is seen as underdeveloped at this time. However, there are a number of potentially fruitful avenues to pursue which could have important implications for future education and prevention efforts.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

Aggression in boys with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder: methylphenidate effects on naturalistically observed aggression, response to provocation, and social information processing.

High and low-aggressive boys with attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were compared and the effects of methylphenidate were examined on measures from three domains of aggression: (1) directly observed verbal and nonverbal aggressive behaviors exhibited in the context of a day treatment program, (2) aggressive responding when provoked during a laboratory task, and (3) social information processing patterns exhibited on tasks designed to tap the putative cognitive components of aggression. The high-aggressive (HA) and low-aggressive (LA) subgroups differed significantly on observational measures of aggression and on the laboratory provocation task, but the HA group showed more deviant cognitions on only one of the numerous measures of social information processing. Regarding medication effects on the direct observation measures, methylphenidate decreased aggression for both subgroups. On the laboratory provocation task, methylphenidate had only minimal effects. Significant drug effects were obtained on only two recall social information processing measures.

Aggression↗

PubMed1992

Person perception as a function of drinking behavior, gender and sex role stereotypes.

Gender and the level of drinking of the protagonist in a vignette were systematically varied to examine the effects of these variables on the inferences 400 undergraduates drew about the personal attributes and future of the character. Results showed that gender of the target did not significantly affect judgments about the protagonist, but perceptions of the character were strongly influenced by the alcohol-related behaviors attributed to him or her in the vignette. Evaluations of the protagonist generally became less favorable as drinking level increased. Abstainers were also viewed more positively than at least some comparison groups of drinkers on most measures. Although heavier drinkers were often stigmatized, they were also seen as having more fun. Subject gender, sex role attributes and attitudes toward women failed to influence judgments about the protagonists, but raters' own drinking habits did have an impact. Heavier drinkers showed a tendency to rate heavier drinking protagonists more favorably than did lighter drinkers. Implications of these results for prevailing theories about norms and evaluations affecting drinkers are discussed.

Adult↗