ALCOHOL APPETITE--A NUTRIENT CONDITIONING ANALYSIS

这个项目将从营养调理的角度调查人们对酒精的胃口。酒精在增强多种形式的行为方面的强大药理作用已被广泛研究。关于酒精作为一种营养素，尤其是它的营养强化作用，人们知之甚少。最近的动物研究表明，营养素(碳水化合物、脂肪、蛋白质)具有积极(强化)的积极作用，通过调节食物的口味偏好和接受度来影响食物的选择和消费。这些偏好可能非常强烈和持久。动物也学会了在中等剂量下偏爱与酒精摄食后的行为相关的味道，尽管在较高剂量下可能会形成厌恶而不是偏好。酒精作为增强剂的效力可能是因为它具有营养和药理上的增强作用。本项目的具体目标是：1)评估乙醇在调节口感偏好中的有效性；2)评估口感条件刺激(风味)在酒精条件偏好中的作用；3)比较乙醇与其他营养素在进食后的强化效果。本研究涉及心理生物学、药理学、营养学和胃肠生理学等多个领域。它将增进我们对酒精胃口心理生物学的基本知识，并可能为控制人类的酒精消费提供实际好处。

This project will investigate the appetite for alcohol from a nutrient-conditioning perspective. The potent pharmacological actions of alcohol in reinforcing many forms of behavior have been extensively investigated. Less is known about alcohol as a nutrient, particularly about its nutritionally-based reinforcing actions. Recent animal studies demonstrate that nutrients (carbohydrate, fat, protein) have positive (reinforcing) positingestive consequences that influence food choice and consumption by conditioning flavor preferences and acceptance. These preferences can be remarkably strong and persistent. Animals also learn to prefer flavors associated with the postingestive actions of alcohol at moderate doses, although at higher doses aversions rather than preferences may develop. The potency of alcohol as a reinforcer may result because it has both nutritive and pharmacological reinforcing actions. The specific aims of this project are to 1) evaluate the effectiveness of ethanol in conditioning flavor preferences using a variety of protocols; 2) evaluate the orosensory conditioned stimulus (flavor) in ethanol-conditioned preferences; and 3) compare the postingestive reinforcing effects of ethanol with those of other nutrients. This research involves the fields of psychobiology, pharmacology, nutrition and gastrointestinal physiology. It will advance our basic knowledge of the psychobiology of alcohol appetite and may provide practical benefits for controlling alcohol consumption in humans.