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Biomedical subjects

D B Newlin

Publications and source records attributed to D B Newlin.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Prior exposures to the laboratory enhance the effect of alcohol.

We compared responses to 0.6 g/kg alcohol of normal male drinkers in a laboratory environment that was new to the subjects with the responses of a second group in the same environment who had two prior exposures to the laboratory environment and procedures. Alcohol-induced increases in heart rate, cheek temperature and self-reported intoxication were greater in the subjects who had previous exposure to the laboratory environment than in the subjects who had no such previous exposure. Differences in blood alcohol concentration (BAC) also were found between the two environments. However, differences in the physiological and self-report measures were found after matching subjects in terms of BAC. These results suggest that novelty effects may contaminate alcohol responses in novel laboratory environments, and they add to our understanding of nonpharmacological factors in the responses to drugs.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Alcohol challenge with sons of alcoholics: a critical review and analysis.

Studies are reviewed in which response to acute administration of alcohol was compared between individuals with and without family histories of alcoholism (FH+, FH-). This research represents a search for a psychobiological marker for alcoholism. A methodological critique of the procedures reported in this literature is then presented. Finally, a conceptual model is suggested in which differences in the response to alcohol between FH+ individuals and FH- individuals must be understood in relation to time after drinking alcohol. This Newtonian differentiator model proposes that sons of alcoholics exhibit acute sensitization as blood alcohol level rises and acute tolerance as blood alcohol level falls, compared with sons of nonalcoholics. Therefore, FH+ subjects find alcohol more rewarding because they accentuate the pleasurable, excitatory aspects of initial intoxication and attenuate the feelings of anxiety and depression that predominate as blood alcohol levels drop.

Acetaldehyde↗
PubMed1990

Vagal mediation of the effect of alcohol on heart rate.

Alcohol (0.5 g/kg bodyweight) was administered in two sessions and placebo in a third session to normal, healthy social drinkers. A control group was administered a mixer (i.e., no alcohol) for each of the three sessions. The heart rate and vagal tone index (V) response patterns were different to alcohol than to the mixer or placebo. The treatments did not differentially influence pulse transit time. The results indicated that the acute effect of a moderate dose of alcohol on the heart is parasympathetically (i.e., vagally) mediated and has no significant direct sympathetic component.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Sons of alcoholics report greater hangover symptoms than sons of nonalcoholics: a pilot study.

We investigated alcohol-induced hangovers among college men at high and low risk for alcoholism. Thirteen sons of alcoholics reported significantly (p less than 0.001) greater hangover symptoms in the past year than 25 sons of nonalcoholics. The two groups reported comparable quantity-frequency of recent drinking. To the extent that hangover represents an acute withdrawal syndrome to alcohol, this raises the question of whether sons of alcoholics are "dependence-prone."

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Autonomic and subjective responses to alcohol stimuli with appropriate control stimuli.

Previous studies on "craving" for alcohol after exposure to olfactory stimuli for alcohol may be criticized on the grounds that the control stimuli were not really appropriate. We included exposure to a preferred nonalcoholic beverage and to a sweet food item as additional control stimuli in order to better compare the salivary, autonomic, and self-reported craving responses of alcoholics with normal social drinkers. The results indicated that the salivation measure was differentially sensitive to the alcohol stimulus, even when compared to appropriate control stimuli. It is possible that self-reported craving is a biased measure in alcoholic inpatients in treatment.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The skin-flushing response: autonomic, self-report, and conditioned responses to repeated administrations of alcohol in Asian men.

This study examined the skin-flushing response in Asian men, which is a low-risk factor for alcoholism. Asian men who did and did not flush to alcohol consumed 0.5 g/kg ethanol during three sessions with alcohol, and placebo in a fourth session. The results indicated that: (a) Asian men who flushed to alcohol showed pronounced cardiovascular changes that did not exhibit differential tolerance over 3 sessions, (b) there were surprisingly few self-reported mood differences in response to alcohol between those who did and did not flush, and (c) finger-pulse amplitude decreased and self-ratings of "boastful" increased significantly in response to placebo challenge in those men who did not flush. These results raise questions about the psychological mechanisms by which the skin-flushing response inhibits the development and expression of alcoholism.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1989

Placebo responding in the same direction as alcohol in women.

Pavlovian conditioning studies with alcohol in humans have been performed exclusively with men subjects. Men demonstrate a placebo response opposite in direction to alcohol, which Newlin (Alcohol Clin Exp Res 9:411-416, 1985) termed an antagonistic placebo response. The current study used normal women subjects given alcohol, placebo, or a soft drink control. Placebo significantly (p less than 0.05) increased heart rate compared to the control condition, and this placebo response was in the same direction as the effect of alcohol. The correlation of heart rate change with reported intoxication was +0.44 in women, when it was negative in men (Newlin DB: Alcohol Clin Exp Res 9:411-416, 1985). These results, when considered in relation to other data concerning individual differences in antagonistic placebo responding, suggest a pattern in which risk for alcoholism is negatively related to placebo responding.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Effects of alcohol conditioning and expectancy on a visuo-motor integration task.

Two experiments were performed in which the classical conditioning model of tolerance, the habituation theory of tolerance, and state dependent learning theory made conflicting predictions. In the first experiment, alcohol conditioning did not produce a compensatory response under placebo on a visuo-motor integration task, but disguised alcohol produced a large decrement in performance. Since the results were consistent both with habituation and state dependent learning theories, a second experiment was performed in which all subjects received alcohol, but half were told that they were receiving pure tonic water. The finding of no expectancy effect was inconsistent with habituation theory, but fully consistent with state dependent learning theory.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Alcohol expectancy and conditioning in sons of alcoholics.

This paper presents an overview of research performed in the context of a classical conditioning model of addiction to alcohol. College age sons of alcoholics were administered placebo in a single session or alcohol in repeated sessions in the laboratory. Sons of alcoholics had enhanced autonomic responses to placebo that were opposite in direction to the effect of alcohol, and they showed reverse tolerance to alcohol in three conditioning sessions. These studies are discussed in relation to theories of addiction to alcohol and a speculative model of risk for alcoholism.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Conditioned compensatory response to alcohol placebo in humans.

An autonomic response opposite in direction to the effect of alcohol (i.e., a conditioned compensatory response) was found in normal social drinkers given alcohol placebo. Seven males received placebo in a distinctive drinking room after receiving vodka and tonic in two sessions in the same room; seven more males received distilled water in three sessions in that room. The response to placebo, consisting of decreased pulse transit time and finger skin temperature, was antagonistic to alcohol. The results support the application of the classical conditioning model of alcoholism to humans.

Autonomic Nervous System↗
PubMed1985

EEG during masturbation and ejaculation.

The occurrence of a distinctive EEG pattern specifically related to sexual arousal and orgasm would provide a reliable and convenient means of identifying such events in the laboratory and would also provide clues to cerebral structures involved in the processes. EEG-polygraph recordings were obtained under rigorously controlled conditions in four normal male subjects during masturbation and ejaculation. The EEG data were subjected to both impressionistic and quantitative analyses. They showed no remarkable changes during the sequence of relevant physiological responses. The sole effect was a slight depression of alpha activity, a well-known nonspecific effect associated with changes in attention and arousal. Examination of the literature shows little agreement among reported results of studies of EEG changes during orgasm. It is likely that at least some reported changes were artifactual. It is concluded that the case for the existence of EEG changes specifically related to sexual arousal and orgasm remains unproven.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Offspring of alcoholics have enhanced antagonistic placebo response.

In this study, 85 college-age men who reported normal drinking practices believed they were drinking malt liquor when they actually drank dealcoholized beer. Following drinking, 11 subjects with an alcoholic biological father showed a significantly larger heart rate decrease (p less than .05) than subjects with a nonalcoholic father. The results are discussed in terms of opponent process and classical conditioning theories of addiction, and the etiological pathway from risk factor to final manifestation of alcoholism.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Cardiovascular responses of individuals with type A behavior pattern and parental coronary heart disease.

Cardiovascular and other responses of stress of subjects considered to be at risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) were studied in order to evaluate two hypothesized pathways in the link between CHD risk factors and the disease process. Forty-seven male subjects with and without a parental history of CHD and with either the Type A or Type B behavior pattern were exposed to two psychological stressors (reaction time and Stroop Color-World test) and one physical stressor (isometric hand grip). Subjects with a parental history of CHD showed larger finger pulse amplitude responses to the two psychosocial stressors, and Type A subjects had larger diastolic blood pressure responses to all three stressors. These results indicated that subjects at greater risk for CHD had more substantial peripheral vascular responses to the stressors compared to low risk subjects; there were no differences in sympathetic cardiac responses related to contractility. The results are discussed in terms of potential mediating mechanisms in the development of CHD.

Adolescent↗