Alcohol and recall: state-dependent effects in man.

Male vollunteers performed four memory tasks either while sober or lunder effects of alcohol. Twenty-four hours later they were tested under the same or different conditions. In tasks measuiring recall and interference, learning transfer was better when the subject was intoxicated during both sessions than when he was intoxicated only during the learning session. In a task measuring recognition, transfer was not significantly affected by changing state. Thus, alcohol appears to produce "dissociated" or state-dependent effects in man, but not all forms of memory are equally sensitive to the phenomenon.

Drinking amid abundant illicit drugs. The Vietnam case.

We studied drinking patterns and problems of 451 US Army enlisted men after their return from Vietnam. Before Vietnam, nearly half were regular drinkers and one quarter had drinking problems. Problem drinking declined in Vietnam as opiate use rose sharply; half had tried opiates and 20% were opiate dependent. After Vietnam, opiate use decreased (now less than 2% opiate dependent) and problem drinking again became ascendant. At time of interview, 17% had drunk in an alcoholic pattern at some period in their lives and another 41% had had problems from drinking. The younger men were more likely to have had problems. Alcholism predictors included:becoming intoxicated at an early age; dropping out of school; truancy and expulsion from school; and having a father with a history of alcoholism or arrests.

A prospective study of young men at high risk for alcoholism. Social and psychological characteristics.

In a prospective longitudinal study of alcoholism, we applied the high-risk method using a Danish birth cohort (9125 consecutive deliveries, 1959 to 1961). From the cohort, 134 sons of alcoholic fathers (high-risk group) and 70 matched controls without parental alcoholism were selected for study. Extensive data were collected in a multidisciplinary etiologic approach. We report the social and psychological characteristics from a "premorbid" assessment when the subjects were 19 to 20 years old. The high-risk group reported more disrupted familial conditions during childhood than the control group. Both groups had a drinking pattern similar to that of the general Danish population at the same age. No alcoholic subjects were found. The high-risk group was characterized by poor verbal ability and impulsive behavior. We plan a follow-up examination of the sample.

Psychopathology in adopted and nonadopted daughters of alcoholics.

This report completes a series of studies conducted in Denmark comparing drinking patterns and psychopathology in adopted and nonadopted children of alcoholics. Sons of alcoholics had higher rates of alcoholism than controls, whether raised by their alcoholic parents or by foster parents. They did not have more psychopathology otherwise. Daughters of alcoholics, adopted and nonadopted, had a higher rate of alcoholism than was the expected frequency in the general population, but so did controls in the adopted group; neither group had higher rates of other psychopathology, eg, depression. However, daughters of alcoholics raised by their biological parents had significantly more depression.

Alcoholism and depression in adopted-out daughters of alcoholics.

Forty-nine daughters of alcoholics were compared to 47 daughters of nonalcholics; both groups of women (average age, 35 years) had been adopted by nonrelatives early in life. Two women in each group were alcoholic or problem drinkers. Although this is above the expected rate of alcoholism among women, the numbers are too small to draw definite conclusions. Almost all were light drinkers. Daughters of alcoholics had no more depression than controls, indicating that alcoholism in the biological parents did not increase the risk of depression in daughters raised by foster parents. Environmental factors may be important in both alcoholism and depression in women, since both tended to be correlated with psychopathology in the foster parents.

The EEG after alcohol administration in men at risk for alcoholism.

The biologic sons of alcoholics constitute a group at high risk (HR) for alcoholism. A 0.5-g/kg dose of alcohol was administered to HR and control subjects aged 19 to 21 years. Blood alcohol concentration measurements failed to distinguish HR from control subjects, but quantitative measurements of EEG alpha activity differentiated them. The HR subjects exhibited greater increases in slow alpha energy and greater decreases of fast alpha energy after alcohol administration than controls; the HR subjects also showed greater decreases in mean alpha frequency after alcohol administration. These EEG findings suggest that subjects at high risk for alcoholism are physiologically more sensitive to alcohol than control subjects.

The electroencephalogram after alcohol administration in high-risk men and the development of alcohol use disorders 10 years later.

BACKGROUND: In 1979 through 1980, electroencephalographic (EEG) responses to an alcohol challenge in 19 year-old sons of alcoholics as well as in sons of nonalcoholic control subjects were examined. The familial risk status of the subjects and greater EEG sensitivity to alcohol were hypothesized to predict the development of alcoholism 10 years later. METHODS: In 1990 through 1992, diagnostic interviews were completed to ascertain alcohol and other substance use disorders in these subjects and to update their family history. RESULTS: Updated family history of alcoholism predicted the development of substance dependence. Density of alcoholic relatives (the number of alcoholic relatives divided by the number of known relatives) was positively related to the severity of alcohol use disorders in the probands. Contrary to expectation, a greater EEG response at age 19 years was not related to the later development of alcohol dependence. Instead, the opposite was observed: a smaller EEG alpha frequency response to alcohol at age 19 years was related to the development of alcohol dependence and high quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption 10 years later. CONCLUSIONS: Lower EEG response to a small dose of alcohol may be associated with the later development of alcohol dependence. This result is based on a small number of subjects and should be interpreted with caution. Although this result is opposite to our 1980 hypothesis, it is consistent with much of the recent literature.

The effect of marijuana on carbohydrate metabolism.

The authors observed the effect of marijuana on carbohydrate metabolism in fed and fasting states in chronic marijuana users. They found no hypoglycemia in 7 patients who were given marijuana after fasting for 24-72 hours. They also found no significant difference in carbohydrate tolerance and no hypoglycemia during an oral glucose tolerance test in 10 patients who smoked placebo or marijuana on alternate days. They conclude that marijuana has no effect on carbohydrate metabolism in the fed or the fasted state in well-nourished chronic marijuana users.

Childhood antecedents of antisocial behavior: parental alcoholism and physical abusiveness.

Hierarchical logistic regression was used to assess the independent and interactive effects of paternal alcoholism and physical child abuse on antisocial behavior in young adult men. Men with alcoholic fathers (N = 131) did not report or exhibit more antisocial behavior than comparison subjects (N = 70). Men with physical abuse histories, however, reported more aggressive and antisocial behaviors during a clinical interview and were rated by a clinical interviewer as more likely to act out aggression. Arrest records did not distinguish the groups. There was no evidence that paternal alcoholism and childhood victimization interacted to increase the risk of antisocial behavior.

Breast-feeding and alcoholism: the Trotter hypothesis.

OBJECTIVE: The authors' goal was to determine whether early termination of breast-feeding contributes to later alcohol dependence, as proposed more than 200 years ago by the British physician Thomas Trotter. METHOD: In 1959-1961, a multiple-specialty group of physicians studied 9, 182 consecutive deliveries in a Danish hospital, obtaining data about prepartum and postpartum variables. The present study concentrates on perinatal variables obtained from 200 of the original babies who participated in a 30-year high-risk follow-up study of the antecedents of alcoholism. RESULTS: Of the 27 men who were diagnosed as alcohol dependent at age 30, 13 (48%) came from the group weaned from the breast before the age of 3 weeks; only 33 (19%) of the 173 non-alcohol-dependent subjects came from the early weaning group. When challenged by other perinatal variables in a multiple regression analysis, early weaning significantly contributed to the prediction of the severity of alcoholism at age 30. CONCLUSIONS: The data support the hypothesis that early weaning may be associated with a greater risk of alcohol dependence later in life.

Studies of familial alcoholism: a review.

Recent studies demonstrate the existence of familial and nonfamilial types of alcoholism. The familial type is characterized by an early age of onset and a severe course. Nonfamilial alcoholism is more often associated with other adult psychiatric disorders. Adoption and twin data suggesting genetic influences in some forms of alcoholism are reviewed. Findings are summarized from studies comparing familial with nonfamilial alcoholics, and from high-risk studies in which sons of alcoholics are compared with sons of nonalcoholics. Both types of studies show important differences between familial and nonfamilial alcoholics.

Anterograde amnesia with oral lorazepam.

Twelve healthy volunteers were enrolled in a double-blind placebo-controlled study to evaluate the amnestic effects of orally administered lorazepam. The subjects were tested for immediate and delayed recall, using a word recall memory task. The subjects taking lorazepam did not differ from subjects receiving placebo on immediate recall. However, the delayed recall scores of lorazepam subjects were significantly lower compared to the placebo group (p less than .01).

Anxiolytics and memory: a comparison of lorazepam and alprazolam.

Thirty healthy male volunteers participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study to investigate whether mild anterograde memory impairment is found after lorazepam has been taken for 5 days. The study compares the amnestic properties of lorazepam and alprazolam on immediate and delayed recall of word lists under the same conditions. Results suggest that individuals who take benzodiazepines will perform less well on an anterograde memory delayed recall task completed after dosing on the sixth day of treatment, but no similar difference will be found in performance on a similar task completed just before dosing on the sixth day. In addition, results suggest there is no significant difference between alprazolam and lorazepam on anterograde memory task effect. The chronic use of lorazepam 1 mg and alprazolam 0.5 mg had no effect on immediate recall of word lists, on the long-term recall of a word list already committed to memory, or on hand-eye coordination as measured in a standard way.

A comparison of two benzodiazepine hypnotics administered with alcohol.

Two benzodiazepine hypnotics were administered alone or in combination with alcohol to normal male volunteers. In the doses given, alcohol potentiated the effects of the benzodiazepines on some but not all performance measures.

Sleep and growth hormone secretion in alcoholics.

The effect of alcoholism on slow wave sleep (SWS) and SWS-related human growth hormone (HGH) secretion was investigated in 8 sober male alcoholics and 13 non-alcoholic controls. Sleep onset was temporally correlated with both elevated HGH levels and a high percentage of SWS in control subjects, with several specific qualifications related to age. By contrast, alcoholism was associated with a dissociation of sleep onset, SWS, and HGH elevation. The first noticeable HGH elevation in sober alcoholics often occurred several hours after sleep onset and in the absence of any SWS in the same time interval. Acute intoxication appeared to "normalize" the sleep onset-SWS linkage in alcoholics but did not influence the dissociation of HGH elevation from sleep onset and SWS.

Genetic factors in the development of alcoholism.

The main approaches to studying the genetics of alcoholism have been twin and adoption studies. Twin studies have demonstrated differences between monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs in regard to alcohol use, but tend to be contradictory with regard to alcoholism. Most adoption studies suggest a genetic predisposition to alcoholism in some individuals.

High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of articular cartilage: correlation with histology and pathology.

Current explanations of the link between magnetic resonance (MR) images and cartilage histology are reviewed. The influence of the three-dimensional cartilage matrix structure on T2 decay is emphasized and illustrated through the use of MR microimaging, T2 mapping, and correlative scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Special emphasis is given to the topics of T2 heterogeneity and orientation anisotropy. Common degenerative changes in the structure and biochemistry of cartilage are discussed and illustrated with examples of MR microimaging and T2 quantification with correlative SEM and light microscopy.

EEG identification of subgroups of men at risk for alcoholism?

Biological sons of male alcoholics constitute one group at high risk (HR) for the development of alcoholism, and were the subjects of this study. A low dose of alcohol (0.5 g/kg) was administered to HR and control subjects. On the basis of changes in the electroencephalographic (EEG) mean alpha frequency that occurred following alcohol administration, two HR subgroups were identified. Measures obtained after alcohol administration, comprising self-ratings and an observer's assessment, distinguished the HR subgroups and control subjects; measures of visuomotor performance did not. The findings are discussed in relation to two current etiological theories bearing on the development of alcoholism: a biopsychological perspective and an initial tolerance for alcohol effects.

Pattern reversal visual evoked potentials after alcohol administration among men at risk for alcoholism.

The P100 component of the pattern reversal visual evoked potential was used to compare men at high risk for alcoholism and control subjects before and after a low (0.5 g/kg) dose of ethanol. The high risk and control subjects did not differ in age, self-reported ethanol consumption, or estimates of ethanol metabolism rates, but changes in the occipital P100 latency differentiated them following ethanol administration. The P100 latency changes that distinguished high risk from control subjects were lateralized and provide preliminary evidence that perceptual visual stimulus processing is differentially affected in the two groups following ethanol administration.