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，由乙醇产生的内部刺激可以起到区分刺激的作用，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，受过训练以准确估计其血液酒精水平（巴尔斯）的人可能更有可能通过在饮酒期间更早地停止饮酒来避免过度饮酒。先前训练饮酒者辨别他们自己的巴尔斯的努力已经比较了关注“外部”线索的有效性（例如，摄入时间-代谢相互作用的知识）与“内部”线索（例如，增加对身体感觉的意识）对酒精的刺激作用。身体将检验这样的假设，即这种反馈将使成年人能够使用自己的平衡受损作为准确估计自己的巴尔斯的工具。本研究将采用A-B-A受试者内设计，要求四组中每组进行三次治疗。在第一和第三阶段，受试者将估计他们的巴尔斯后，每六个不同的乙醇剂量的饮料。在第二次会议期间进行每次BAL估计之前，关注外部线索的受试者将收到计算机化动态姿势图测试结果的反馈，而关注内部线索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，自我监测受损的平衡是更普遍的比以前研究的“外部”线索BAL估计。酗酒者适当使用暗示训练可以减少他们出现酒精相关问题的可能性。

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.