EQUILIBRIUM IMPAIRMENT AS A CUE FOR BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL DISCRIMINATION

过量饮酒每年导致数万人死亡。动物研究表明，乙醇产生的内部刺激可以起到辨别刺激的作用，使动物能够根据酒精的存在或不存在，甚至是特定的酒精剂量。在这方面，接受过准确估计血液酒精水平(BAL)培训的人类可能更有可能通过在饮酒期间较早停止饮酒来避免过度饮酒。以前训练饮酒者辨别自己的行为的努力，已经比较了注意“外部”线索(例如，对摄入时间-新陈代谢相互作用的知识)和“内部”线索(例如，提高对酒精刺激效应的身体感觉的认识)的有效性。人体将测试这样的假设，即这种反馈将使成年人能够将自己平衡的损害作为准确估计自己平衡的工具。这项研究将采用A-B-A受试者内设计，要求四组每组三次会议。在第一和第三阶段，受试者将在六种不同剂量的酒精饮料中的每一种之后估计他们的BAL值。在第二阶段中做出每个BAL估计之前，接受外部暗示的受试者将收到计算机化动态姿势图测试结果的反馈，而接受内部暗示的受试者将完成几份自我报告情绪/症状问卷，并被告知他们的心率和血压。第三组将接受两种提示，而第四组将不接受任何训练。主要因变量是训练后BAL估计的准确性。我们假设，对受损平衡的自我监测比之前研究的用于BAL估计的“外部”线索更具普遍性。酗酒者适当地使用线索训练可以减少他们出现与酒精有关的问题的可能性。

Excessive alcohol consumption contributes to tens of thousands of deaths each year. Animal studies have shown that internal stimuli produced by ethanol can function as discriminative stimuli enabling the animal in accordance with the presence or absence of alcohol, or even a particular alcohol dose. In this regard, humans who are trained to estimate their blood alcohol levels (BALs) accurately may be more likely to avoid excessive alcohol use by stopping drinking earlier within a drinking session. Prior efforts to train drinkers to discriminate their own BALs have compared the effectiveness of attending to "external" cues (e.g., knowledge of intake-time-metabolism interactions) versus "internal" cues (e.g., increased awareness of bodily sensations) of the stimulus effects of alcohol. The body will test the hypothesis that such feedback will enable adults to use impairment of their own equilibrium as a tool for accurate estimation of their own BALs. This study will use an A-B-A within-subjects design requiring three sessions for each of four groups. In the first and third sessions, subjects will estimate their BALs following each of six drinks of varying ethanol doses. Before making each BAL estimate during the second session, subjects attending to external cues will receive feedback from the results of a computerized dynamic posturography test, while subjects attending to internal cues will complete several self-report mood/symptom questionnaires and be informed of their heart rates and blood pressures. A third group will receive both cues, while a fourth group will receive no training. The main dependent variable is accuracy of BAL estimation following training. We hypothesize that self-monitoring of impaired balance is more generalizable than previously studied "external" cues for BAL estimation. Proper use of cue training by heavy drinkers could reduce their potential for alcohol-related problems.