Biomedical subjects

R O Pihl

Publications and source records attributed to R O Pihl.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

PubMed1991

Effect of sucrose consumption on alcohol-induced impairment in male social drinkers.

Two studies were conducted to examine the interaction between sucrose and ethanol in normal young fasting adult males. The first experiment employed a 3 (100 g sugar, 35 g sugar, 0 g sugar) x 3 (alcohol, placebo and sober) factorial design, which was carried out double-blind using aspartame to ensure that all the drinks were equally sweet. Subjects were tested for mood, memory, subjective intoxication and psychomotor performance at baseline and at times up to 3.5 h after ingestion of the drinks. An alcohol by sugar interaction was seen at 0.5 after drinking. Sugar attenuated alcohol intoxication at this time without influencing blood alcohol levels. Contrary to previous reports, the combination of alcohol and sugar failed to produce significant hypoglycemia, or any of the adverse behavioral effects associated with hypoglycemia, at later times after drink ingestion. The second experiment involved a simpler design, carried out single-blind in which the subjects receiving no sugar did not get aspartame. This was to rule out the possibility that aspartame was exacerbating alcohol intoxication instead of sugar attenuating it. The second experiment also showed that sugar can attenuate alcohol intoxication in fasting humans without altering blood alcohol levels significantly.

Adult↗

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↗

PubMed1991

Validation of the Derogatis Stress Profile using laboratory and real world data.

The Derogatis Stress Profile (DSP) is unique among the numerous measures of 'stress' in that it incorporates the interactional model of Lazarus and Folkman in a multidimensional structure. Derogatis has studied the psychometric properties of the DSP but its validity has not been demonstrated in the 'real world' nor has it been related to psychophysiological data. The present investigation was aimed at testing the validity of the DSP in these two areas. Forty-three men between the ages of 18 and 30 years completed the DSP, the Daily Hassles Scale (DHS), the Life Experiences Survey (LES), the Profile of Mood States (bipolar form), and the Jackson Personality Inventory (JPI). Participants were exposed to stressors in a laboratory setting as well as in the field while their heart rate was being monitored. Results supported the validity of the DSP, in part. The correlation between the DSP and JPI anxiety scores was significant as was the correlation between the DSP and the daily depression scores. The correlation between the Total Stress Score (TSS) of the DSP and DHS was significant as were the correlations between the TSS and LES scores. Moreover, the DSP scores were related to heart rate reactivity both in the laboratory and in the field.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

A biobehavioural model for the inherited predisposition to alcoholism.

Sons of male alcoholics are at increased risk for the development of alcoholism, and are characterized as well by other traits, that may serve as markers for the alcoholic predisposition. These other traits include mild cognitive abnormalities, cardiac hyper-reactivity to signalled electric shock, susceptibility to alcohol-intoxication elimination of that hyper-reactivity, and increased baseline heart-rate while drinking.

Alcohol Drinking↗

PubMed1990

Alexithymia and stimulus augmenting/reducing.

Alexithymia is thought to be a trait that predisposes individuals to psychosomatic and drug abuse disorders. It was hypothesized that alexithymic characteristics would lead an individual to augment stimuli in order to prevent ignoring stimuli that might be dangerous. Subjects (N = 175) were administered alexithymia and augmenting-reducing questionnaires. These concepts were related as expected for male, but not female, subjects. In addition, it was found that alexithymic characteristics in general, rather than a specific difficulty in discriminating physical and emotional stimuli, contributed to this relationship.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Information processing, neuropsychological function, and the inherited predisposition to alcoholism.

Sons of male alcoholics are at particularly heightened risk for the development of alcoholism. This heightened risk frequently appears in association with increased incidence of conduct disorder or hyperactivity, with deficits in abstract thinking and poor school performance, with abnormalities in cued psychophysiological response, and with increased sensitivity to the putatively stress-response-dampening effects of alcohol intoxication. This risk and its associated features are discussed within the context of a neuropsychological theory, predicted on the notions (1) that deficits in cognitive functions theoretically dependent upon the intact functioning of the prefrontal cortex could underlie manifestation of the idiosyncracies commonly attributed to sons of male alcoholics, and (2) that acute alcohol intoxication could relieve the subjective discomfort associated with the consequences of such deficits.

Alcoholism↗

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

Inherited predisposition to alcoholism: characteristics of sons of male alcoholics.

Sons of male alcoholics (SOMAs) are at markedly heightened genetic risk for the development of alcohol abuse. Study of SOMAs could therefore conceivably increase the efficiency of research aimed at uncovering those heritable factors that predispose to alcoholism. SOMAs manifest observable behavioral, cognitive, and psychophysiological abnormalities while sober and react idiosyncratically to alcohol intoxication. They are most commonly described as conduct disordered and hyperactive, appear heir to a variety of deficits in verbal and abstract cognition, and perform more poorly in the academic environment. SOMAs are characterized by abnormal patterns of cued psychophysiological response, and appear more sensitive to the putatively reinforcing aspects of alcohol intoxication. Various methodological weaknesses permeate the relevant literature. Some straightforward improvements are suggested.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Acute alcohol intoxication and cognitive functioning.

Acute alcohol intoxication produces changes in the cognitive functioning of normal individuals. These changes appear similar prima facie to those exhibited by individuals who sustain prefrontal lobe damage during adulthood. In order to test the validity of this observation, and to control for the confounding effects of expectancy, 72 male subjects were administered a battery of neuropsychological tests, within the context of a balanced-placebo design. Each subject received one of three widely different doses of alcohol. Analysis of the results of the cognitive test battery demonstrated that a high dose of alcohol detrimentally affects a number of functions associated with the prefrontal and temporal lobes, including planning, verbal fluency, memory and complex motor control. Expectancy does not appear to play a significant role in determining this effect. The implications of this pattern of impairment are analyzed and discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Lead and cadmium levels in violent criminals.

Two groups of violent incarcerated male criminals and 30 nonviolent criminals were compared for element content of hair by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Groups did not differ in age, socioeconomic status, or months institutionalized. The groups did differ significantly in lead and cadmium levels. The importance of cadmium in affecting reactivity to stimuli is discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

Alcohol and crimes of violence: present issues.

Current issues in alcohol-related violence are highlighted through the examination of correlational studies between alcohol and violent crime. Alcohol is associated with violent crime at a greater than chance level and at a significantly higher level than it is associated with nonviolent crime. Heavy drinking and a verbal argument usually precede the violent act and the victim is as likely as the offender to initiate the altercation. However, it is the precipitator of the altercation who is more likely to be intoxicated. Alcohol and aggression are more strongly related than expected with violent offenders demonstrating psychopathology. Marital violence appears related to alcohol independent of other marital problems. Although there exists a strong correlational relationship between alcohol and violent crime, the nature of the evidence prohibits the establishment of a causal link. In particular, methodological problems, such as a lack of appropriate comparison groups, make it difficult to draw conclusions in this area.

Alcoholic Intoxication↗

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

Biochemical aspects of tryptophan depletion in primates.

We studied the degree of plasma tryptophan depletion produced by giving normal human males different amounts of a tryptophan-free (T-) amino acid mixture. From the results of this and other studies we concluded that the maximum degree of tryptophan depletion can be produced by a 31.5 g mixture of seven essential amino acids. Administration of a T- amino acid mixture to vervet monkeys lowered tryptophan and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in the cerebrospinal fluid. Levels of tyrosine and the catecholamine metabolites were unchanged. These data support the idea that the effects of T- mixture on mental function in humans which have been reported previously are due to a decrease in 5-hydroxytryptamine.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Autonomic hyperreactivity and risk for alcoholism.

1. Studies which illustrate autonomic hyperreactivity in sons of alcoholics are reviewed and discussed. This response is elicited by a wide range of stimuli which vary from the stressful to the incidental. It also occurs independently of coping strategy. This hyperreactivity, which is particularly characteristic of multigenerational sons of alcoholics is significantly dampened by alcohol. This pattern of results supports a negative reinforcement model of alcohol abuse in these individuals.

Alcoholism↗

PubMed1989

Modification of the balanced-placebo design for use at high blood alcohol levels.

One hundred seventy-nine volunteer male subjects participated in a test of a modified version of the balanced-placebo design at clinically significant B.A.L.s (.081-.105 mg/dl). Half of these subjects were given dose and instructions according to a standard balanced-placebo design; the others received active placebos where appropriate, and instructions tailored to accomodate the mismatch between dose and expectancy. A measure of subjective intoxication was taken after a forty-minute drinking period, and again thirty minutes later. The results showed the modified balanced placebo design to be superior to the standard approach in creating subjective intoxication consistent with instructions and stable over time. An attributional formulation of the results is offered and the modified balanced-placebo design is advanced as an alternative particularly useful for the investigation of dose/expectancy effects at high B.A.L.s.

Adolescent↗

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↗

PubMed1989

Psychometrics of the Schalling-Sifneos and Toronto Alexithymia Scales.

Two measures of alexithymia, the Schalling-Sifneos (SSPS) and the Toronto Scales (TAS) were administered to 178 male and female undergraduate students. For both measures alexithymia appears to decrease with age. Five factors for the TAS were retained accounting for 35% of the variance and for the SSPS a three-factor solution was determined accounting for 53% of the variance. The robustness of the solution analyzed with the TAS reflected greater stability. The factor structure of the TAS seemed more consistent with the concept of alexithymia than that of the SSPS.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

Premenstrual depression in women with a history of affective disorder: mood and attentional processes.

Survey studies have pinpointed high concordance rates between affective disorder and premenstrual depression. This relationship was investigated in women with a history of both disorders. Sixteen subjects rated symptoms daily during one menstrual cycle, and were assessed on measures of mood and selective attention pre- and postmenstrually. Prospective ratings confirmed premenstrual depression in only eight of the subjects. These subjects demonstrated a significant premenstrual elevation in dysphoric affect, yet exhibited a dysphoric attentional bias both pre- and postmenstrually. These data do not suggest an interactive relationship between affective disorder and premenstrual depression along the particular cognitive dimension of study.

Adult↗