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Biomedical subjects

P R Finn

Publications and source records attributed to P R Finn.

35 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Compensatory responses to placebo vary with presumed personality "risk" for alcoholism and drinking habits.

Physiological reactions of men who reported intoxication after consuming placebo beer were related to a personality index of presumed "risk" for alcoholism and drinking habits. Presumed personality "risk" varied with decreases in skin conductance. Those at higher "risk" showed a larger compensatory response. Drinking habits varied with decreases in skin temperature. Those who drank more showed larger changes. These results are consistent with work linking risk and compensatory responding, and support compensatory response theory. Nevertheless, these results were found only for a subset of subjects (24 of 81) who reported moderate intoxication after consuming the placebo, limiting generalizability.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Heart-rate reactivity and alcohol consumption among sons of male alcoholics and sons of non-alcoholics.

Recent studies have demonstrated that sons of male alcoholics with multigenerational family histories of male alcoholism are characterized by sober heart-rate hyperreactivity to aversive stimuli, susceptibility to alcohol-induced dampening of that hyperreactivity and by increased resting heart rate while intoxicated. Regression analyses indicate that the magnitude of alcohol-induced change in resting and reactive cardiac response is significantly and powerfully associated with the degree of self-reported voluntary alcohol consumption among 85 non-alcoholic males who are either lacking or who have moderate or extensive family histories of male alcoholism. It appears that heightened sensitivity to alcohol-induced increase in resting and decrease in reactive heart rate might mark or underlie familial risk for developing alcoholism.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Sensation seeking, stress reactivity, and alcohol dampening discriminate the density of a family history of alcoholism.

Data collected from 95 nonalcoholic men who had either a multigenerational (MFH), unigenerational (UFH), or negative family history (FHN) of alcoholism were subjected to a discriminant function analysis to determine how well a set of variables differentiated between the family history groups. The data-set comprised personality measures (sensation seeking scales, neuroticism, and extroversion), measures of cardiovascular reactivity to unavoidable shock, and measures of the cardiovascular reactivity-dampening effects of alcohol. The discriminant analyses correctly classified 62% of all subjects, 75% of MFH subjects, 47% of UFH subjects, and 63% of FHN subjects. A canonical discriminant function analysis revealed one significant dimension (canonical variable) that differentiated between family history groups. The high density (MFH) family group scored positively on this dimension, while the UFH and FHN groups had negative mean scores on this variable. A MFH of alcoholism was characterized by a pattern of increased sensitivity to the cardiovascular reactivity-dampening effect of alcohol, cardiovascular hyperreactivity to unavoidable shock when sober, and the personality characteristic of experience seeking, which is associated with a desire for novel and unconventional experiences.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Cognitive dysfunction and the inherited predisposition to alcoholism.

A battery of neuropsychological tests was administered to 22 nonalcoholic sons of male alcoholics (SOMAs) from families with extensive histories of male alcoholism and to 22 nonalcoholic controls with no history of familial alcoholism. In each group 11 subjects were tested while sober and 11 were tested while alcohol-intoxicated. Analyses of the results of this battery suggested (1) that SOMAs may be characterized by comparative decrements in those cognitive functions associated with the organization of novel information, dependent in theory upon the prefrontal cortex; and (2) that alcohol detrimentally affects delayed memory, associated with the temporal cortex, equally across groups. Of these SOMAs 20 had previously participated in one of two studies that demonstrated their cardiovascular hyper-reactivity to threat/stress and their increased sensitivity to the reactivity-dampening effects of alcohol intoxication. Correlational analyses of the results of the present and previous studies demonstrated the existence of a highly significant relationship between cognitive impairment, cardiovascular hyper-reactivity and susceptibility to the reactivity-dampening effects of alcohol.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Factor structure and correlates of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire.

Cloninger has proposed a model linking personality characteristics to patterns of responses to various stimuli, including alcohol. The model also uses personality characteristics to divide alcoholics into two types. In order to assess the relevant aspects of personality, the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) was developed. This study examined the factor structure and correlates of the questionnaire to shed light on its validity. A confirmatory factor analysis of the TPQ failed to replicate the three proposed factors of novelty seeking, harm avoidance and reward dependence. Alternative models also failed to fit the data. The three factors were correlated with other personality measures theoretically linked to drinking (MacAndrew, Socialization and Sensation-Seeking scales), quantity and frequency measures of alcohol use and a measure of alcohol abuse (the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test). The pattern of correlations provides evidence for the convergent validity of the TPQ. Nevertheless, the failure to replicate the factor structure suggests that the scale requires further revision before the model can be adequately tested.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

The effects of alcohol on the cardiovascular stress response in men at high risk for alcoholism: a dose response study.

Men at risk for alcoholism appear to be cardiovascularly hyperreactive to stressors; high doses of alcohol have been found to significantly dampen this hyperreactivity. The present study examined the effects of various doses of alcohol on cardiovascular reactivity in high- versus low-risk men. Cardiovascular reactivity to a stressor (unavoidable shock) was examined in men with multigenerational family histories of alcoholism and in family history negative men while they were sober and after they had consumed one of five alcohol doses (active placebo, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00 or 1.32 ml 95% USP alcohol/kg body weight). No significant placebo effects were observed in the active placebo condition. Furthermore, the cardiovascular reactivity dampening effect in high-risk men was evident only at moderate to high doses of alcohol, suggesting that men at high risk for the development of alcoholism must consume moderately high doses of alcohol in order to obtain this potentially reinforcing consequence.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Sensation seeking explains the relation between behavioral disinhibition and alcohol consumption.

Research using latent variable analysis revealed a strong relation between behavioral disinhibition, as measured by the MacAndrew and Socialization scales, and drinking habits (Earleywine, Finn, & Martin, 1990). Theoretical reasons for this link remain unclear. Each of these constructs could relate to a third variable that could account for the covariation between them. Sensation seeking seemed a likely third variable, given its previously established connection to alcohol consumption. Models of the potential links between these constructs were tested on self-report data provided by college men. LISREL modeling revealed that the relation between behavioral disinhibition and drinking could be accounted for by the relation of each to sensation seeking. The findings are discussed as further support for the connection between specific individual differences and alcohol consumption.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1991

The Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire and the inherited risk for alcoholism.

The Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) (Cloninger, 1987c) was administered to four groups of young men. The first group was composed of nonalcoholic sons of male alcoholics with extensive multigenerational family histories of male alcohol abuse. The second was made up of nonalcoholic men with alcoholic fathers. The third group was composed of nonalcoholic men with no family history of alcoholism, taken from the general population. The fourth group contained male undergraduates with no family history of alcoholism. There were no significant differences between the mean scores obtained by members of all four groups on the three major subscales of the TPQ.

Alcoholism↗
PubMed1990

Personality risk and alcohol consumption: a latent variable analysis.

Several studies report modest correlations between measures of personality and measures of alcohol consumption. These results have led many to conclude that the relation between personality characteristics and drinking is weak, and that studying such a relation may not be fruitful. Nevertheless, the magnitude of the correlations between measures of certain personality characteristics and drinking may be attenuated due to the imperfect reliability of the measures. By viewing specific measures of personality, and alcohol consumption as fallible indicators of underlying constructs, and using confirmatory factor analysis to estimate the relation between them, a correlation of .80 was found, implying that the relation between personality and drinking may be stronger than correlational analyses suggest.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1990

Effects of alcohol on psychophysiological hyperreactivity to nonaversive and aversive stimuli in men at high risk for alcoholism.

Psychophysiological reactivity to nonaversive (1-KHz, 70-db tones) and aversive stimuli (shock) was examined in nonalcoholic men with multigenerational family histories (MFH) of alcoholism and family history negative (FH-) men, while sober and after consuming alcohol. In comparison with FH- Ss, sober MFH Ss had significantly larger skin conductance (SC) orienting responses (ORs), shorter OR latencies, slower habituation rates to the tones, and larger increases in heart rate and vasoconstriction to the shock. Alcohol dampened the magnitude of the SC-OR to the tones and the degree of cardiovascular reactivity to the shocks and increased the habituation rate to the tones in MFH Ss only. Alcohol consumption also increased the SC-OR recovery time in FH- Ss only. The MFH Ss' pattern of psychophysiological hyperreactivity is discussed in terms of a potential dysfunction in stimulus-response regulation.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Some boundary conditions for effective use of alcohol placebos.

The present research assessed the conditions under which subjects who consume alcohol and those who consume a placebo beverage, and who report consuming alcohol on a manipulation check question, are equivalent with respect to subjective responses to alcohol. Male subjects were told that they were drinking alcohol and consumed one of four beverages: alcoholic beer, nonalcoholic beer, vodka and tonic with lime, or tonic with lime. Measures of subjective intoxication, body sensations and breath alcohol were taken at different times during and after beverage consumption. Subjective intoxication ratings were higher for subjects who received alcohol, compared to subjects who received a placebo and reported consuming alcohol, when alcohol subjects achieved blood alcohol concentrations at and above .04%. These two groups did not differ in subjective intoxication ratings when alcohol subjects achieved blood alcohol concentrations below .04%. These data suggest that the orthogonal manipulation of alcohol consumption and expectancy effects is problematic at and above blood alcohol concentrations of .04%.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

The lifetime prevalence of psychopathology in men with multigenerational family histories of alcoholism.

This paper reports the results of a pilot study of the lifetime prevalence of psychiatric disorders in a group of nonalcoholic men with multigenerational family histories of alcoholism (high-risk) in comparison with that of a control group (nonalcoholic men without multigenerational family histories of alcoholism). Diagnoses were given following the structured interview format of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, using the Research Diagnostic Criteria. The prevalence of psychopathology in the probands' first- and second-degree relatives was also determined using the Family History Research Diagnostic Criteria. The results showed a higher lifetime prevalence of psychopathology for the high-risk men compared with control subjects, with the diagnoses of major affective disorder and anxiety disorder predominating. In addition, the data obtained from first- and second-degree relatives indicated a significantly higher prevalence of nonalcoholic diagnoses in the high-risk families (depression in particular), suggesting that alcoholism and depression may be cosegregating in these families. The lifetime prevalence of these disorders is similar to that reported in chronic alcoholics.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Risk for hypertension in female members of multigenerational male-limited alcoholic families.

Cardiovascular hyperreactivity to psychological stress has been implicated as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Recent reports have suggested that male offspring of multigenerational male-limited alcoholic families display cardiovascular hyperreactivity to stress. Data concerning cardiovascular disease in 371 individuals from multigenerational male-limited alcoholic families and other family types of differing risk for alcoholism were subjected to chi 2 analyses. Results indicated a significantly greater incidence of hypertension in female members of multigenerational male-limited alcoholic families as compared to the other family types.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Risk for alcoholism: a comparison between two different groups of sons of alcoholics on cardiovascular reactivity and sensitivity to alcohol.

Two groups of sons of alcoholic fathers of differing family pedigrees for alcoholism [multigenerational (MGH) versus unigenerational (UGH)] were compared on measures of cardiovascular reactivity to unavoidable shock under alcohol and no alcohol consumption conditions. The MGH subjects were significantly more reactive than UGH subjects to the shock procedure on a measure of peripheral vasoconstriction (digital blood volume amplitude) with a similar trend on heart rate. The MGH subjects were significantly more sensitive to the reactivity dampening effects of alcohol than the UGH subjects on both cardiovascular measures. MGH subjects were also significantly more alexithymic than UGH subjects. The results are discussed in terms of the potential etiological significance of these characteristics in MGH males, and the importance of delineating the family history for at least two generations when assigning risk status to potential subjects.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Alexithymia in males at high genetic risk for alcoholism.

Recent research has demonstrated that males at high genetic risk for alcoholism are more cardiovascularly reactive to an unavoidable stressor than those at moderate and low genetic risk for the disorder. Alcohol has also been found to dramatically decrease this cardiovascular hyperreactivity in high risk subjects. The mechanisms underlying the cardiovascular hyperreactivity may reflect some deficit in autonomic nervous system modulation. This apparent deficit is similar to that associated with alexithymia. The present report is an investigation of the presence of alexithymic traits in these high-risk subjects. Nonalcoholic males at high, moderate and low genetic risk for alcoholism were administered the Schalling-Sifneos Personality Scale as a measure of alexithymia. The subjects at high genetic risk for alcoholism were found to be more alexithymic than both control groups. The potential role of alexithymic traits in the etiology of one form of alcoholism is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Constraint, alcoholism, and electrodermal response in aversive classical conditioning and mismatch novelty paradigms.

This study investigated whether low levels of the personality trait of constraint and early-onset alcoholism would be associated with deficits in aversive conditioning and smaller responses to novelty in a stimulus mismatch protocol. Personality traits (constraint and socialization) and skin conductance responses (SCRs) during conditioning and novelty paradigms were assessed in alcoholics (n=41) and non-alcoholics (n = 32). The conditioning protocol involved measuring SCRs after conditioned stimuli (CS+: tones) paired with shock, CS- tones unpaired with shock, and CS+ probes unpaired with shock. The mismatch protocol involved measuring SCRs to auditory stimuli consisting of a series of 5 pure tones of the same pitch followed a shorter white noise stimulus (the novel stimulus). Contrary to the hypothesis, alcoholics did not differ from non-alcoholics in SCRs to CS+ probes or on the mismatch measure (SCR novel tone-SCR to 5th tone). Higher levels of constraint and self-reports of fear during conditioning were associated with smaller responses to both the CS+ probes and the CS- tones as well as the mismatch measure within non-alcoholics, but not within alcoholics. In alcoholics, low constraint was associated with greater habituation to CS+ probes, and poor differential conditioning on measures of change across trials in SCR to CS+ probes and CS- stimuli. The results suggest that different processes influence levels of constraint in non-alcoholics and alcoholics. The data indicate that low constraint in non-alcoholics is associated with allocating fewer processing resources to potentially significant stimuli, rather than being associated with a specific deficit in aversive conditioning per se.

Acoustic Stimulation↗