Alcohol-induced biphasic background and stimulus-elicited EEG changes in relation to blood alcohol levels.

The effects of 0.8 g alcohol kg-1 on CNS processes as reflected in EEG changes were studied in controlled experiments in 14 subjects in relation to BAC levels. A Two Period Change-Over Design with repeated trials over time allowed us to ascertain the time course and to isolate alcohol-induced changes from diurnal variations and effects of sequence and period. Based on spectral analysis of analog EEG recordings, the study has shown differential patterns of bi-phasic or tri-phasic alcohol-induced EEG changes over time in a number of parameters in background and in stimulus-elicited EEG responses varying with the BAC level and the metabolic phase of alcohol biotransformation. An increase in alpha activity during the absorption phase, a shift in the median of the total spectral power to the right (upwards), a decrease in slow activity in the delta and theta bands, and a decrease in variability of the background EEG on one hand and a reduction in stimulus-elicited EEg responses in total spectral alpha, theta and delta bands on the other are all interpreted as a stimulating excitatory effect during the absorption phase, parallel to the increase in BAC. The reverse pattern in the first part of the elimination phase infers a decrease in cerebral activation reflecting the sedative, depressant action of alcohol in this phase. The effects observed in the last trial, to a certain extent interpreted as stimulating, were simultaneous with the beginning of the post-alcohol hangover phase.

Use and abuse of non-narcotic analgesics.

The definition of abuse and dependence of non-narcotic analgesics should take into consideration the interaction of drug and personality. Usually, definitions are based on qualitative aspects of the risk-benefit ratio in the use of psychotropic drugs. By means of modern research methods in epidemiology and clinical psychology, quantitative aspects might be integrated in the process of defining persons and drugs when evaluating their risk of abuse or dependence. In a prospective field study with working housewives of northwestern Switzerland who showed objective evidence of intake of non-narcotic analgesics and a control group, the interaction of drug use and personality features has been investigated. There was significant evidence that heavy use of non-narcotic analgesics was paralleled with a high risk of depression, emotional liability and disturbance in sexual identity. Using urine analysis, the study group was divided into two subgroups showing low or high intake of drugs, respectively. Special attention was focused on persons shifting from the study group into the control group and vice versa.

The heart rate response as an indicator of changes in activation induced by alcohol.

This experiment was conducted in order to examine different alcohol-induced states of activation as indicated by the acoustic evoked heart rate response (HRR). Twelve healthy male subjects received 0.7 g/kg alcohol in one session of a cross-over designed experiment. In the control session no alcohol was given. The measurements of three parameters of the heart rate response as well as the self-assessments of mood were repeated five times along the course of the venous blood alcohol concentration. Significant depressant alcohol effects were reflected in a decrease in the HRR acceleration as well as in a decrease in vitality, vigilance, and self-estimated startle reaction. Stimulating effects could be observed in an increase of the mean heart rate and the second HRR deceleration. We conclude that different alcohol-induced states of activiation represent different patterns of inhibitory and facilitatory processes, each manifesting itself in different parameters. The results suggest three major components of alcohol action: 1) an inhibition release with immediate onset,2) a slower processing inhitition,3) attention focussing as a compensatory response to inhibition.

[Basler drug- and alcohol-questionnaire. First experiences in the construction of a test instrument for evaluation of dependency of drug-and/or alcohol-consumers (author's transl)]. / Basler Drogen- und Alkoholfragebogen (BDA). Erste Erfahrungen bei der Konstruktion eines Testinstrumentes zur Abschätzung des Abhängigkeitsgrades von Drogen- und/oder Alkohol-konsumenten

In order to provide an estimation of the degree of drug and/or alcohol dependency the authors designed a questionnaire. In this paper the basic steps of item analysis, factor analysis and calculation of reliability (split-half-method) are reported. After elimination of 6 items out of 65 the item-metric and factorial characteristics as well as the reliability of the instrument could be judged as satisfactory. On the item level two factor analytical solutions were interpreted. The first one showed one factor covering the general concept of dependency, the second one suggested a 3- dimensional differentiation in terms of 1. negative self-concept, 2. obsessional traits, and 3. addictive illness behavior.

[The time-course of alcohol induced changes in self-rating-scales of mood (author's transl)]. / Der zeitliche Verlauf der Alkoholwirkung in Skalen der Selbstbefindlichkeit

Alcohol was administered in a dose of 0.77 g per kg bodyweight to 16 healthy male subjects in a cross-over-design. A study was made of a number of psychological and physiological variables to determine the modifications that accompany the alcohol-induced changes in the orienting response to an auditory stimulus. Five determinations were made at intervals following a dose of alcohol and five in a control session when no alcohol was given. The results obtained for the psychological variables (self-ratings of the intensity of intoxication and the degree of being startled by the first stimulus; and self-assessment of mood) show alcohol to have stimulant as well as depressant effects. Some of the variables show stimulant effects, mainly at the beginning of the absorption phase, whereas other variables show depressant effects, both in the absorption phase and the postabsorption phase. Changes in physiological variables (such as parameters of electrodermal activity and of the heart rate response) support these findings. The simultaneous presence of both stimulant and depressant effects is pointed out as well as the difficulties in describing these findings in terms of a unidimensional model of activation.