Effects of alcohol intoxication and arousal on discounting and risk behavior

描述（由申请人提供）：在大学校园以及他们居住的社区，广泛冒险的场景经常发生。在这些社区的学生中，酗酒是很常见的（Wechsler，Lee，Kuo，& Lee，2000），还有各种危险行为，包括危险的性行为（参见库珀，2002）。由于可能接触艾滋病毒和其他性传播疾病，危险的性行为对年轻人构成特别大的风险（SAMHSA，2007年）。尽管酒精使用可能与危险性行为在全球范围内相关，但急性酒精中毒在引起危险性行为中的作用尚不清楚（乔治等人，2009年;乔治和斯通纳，2000年）。中毒和危险行为之间的联系是复杂的，需要进一步的研究来阐明中毒和危险选择之间的联系机制。酒精近视模型预测，由于酒精对注意力的影响，经历抑制冲突的醉酒个体的行为将越来越多地受到个体环境中显著线索的指导（Steele & Josephs，1990）。生理唤醒对行为有类似的影响，增加了对显著环境线索的依赖性（Ward等人，2008年）。延迟折扣可能是导致危险性行为的一种机制，并且是一项已被证明对酒精的急性影响敏感的任务（Reynolds等人，2006年）。延迟奖励的折扣可能会因酒精和生理唤醒而增加，因为它们的共同影响是将注意力缩小到立即突出的线索。本实验将测试中毒和生理唤醒对模拟性风险行为和延迟折扣的影响。一个路径模型将通过延迟折扣测试醉酒和生理唤醒（及其相互作用）对性风险行为的间接影响。为了实现这一点，拟议的研究将采用3（酒精中毒，酒精安慰剂，对照）× 2（高，低唤醒）的实验设计，使用实时延迟折扣任务和性风险承担的模拟任务作为结果。该项目的长期目标是促进对酒精对决策过程和风险行为影响的理论理解。提高我们对急性酒精影响决策过程的理解可以为未来的预防计划提供有意义的信息。为实现这些目标，拟议的研究金包括以下培训内容：（a）培养申请人的科学写作技能和生产力;（B）增加申请人对酒精研究的了解，重点是酒精中毒与心理社会问题之间的联系机制;（c）进一步培养申请人的方法和数据分析技能。奖学金支持将用于通过指导，课程工作，应用经验和指导阅读来重点研究酒精研究。此外，该研究金将通过辅导、利用现有数据和课程工作，支持学习新的方法和数据分析技能。最后，该研究金将通过在国家会议上发言、与其他酒精研究人员合作以及获得审查经验，支持与科学界的接触。 公共卫生相关性：拟议项目对公共卫生的影响包括更好地了解酒精中毒和其他可能导致危险性行为的急性状态，增加感染艾滋病毒等性传播疾病的风险。进一步的影响包括识别机制的基础偏好立即奖励和未来奖励的折扣和风险的选择之间的关联研究。加强对酒精中毒和危险行为之间联系机制的理解，可以为预防和干预工作提供信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Scenes of extensive risk taking are frequent on college campuses, as well as the communities in which they are housed. Heavy alcohol use is common among the students in these communities (Wechsler, Lee, Kuo, & Lee, 2000), as are a variety of risk behaviors, including risky sexual practices (see Cooper, 2002 for a review). Risky sexual behavior poses an especially potent risk for young adults due to the potential for exposure to HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (SAMHSA, 2007). Although alcohol use may be globally associated with risky sexual behavior, the role of acute alcohol intoxication in causing sexual risk behavior is less clear (George et al., 2009; George & Stoner, 2000). Associations between intoxication and risky behavior are complex, and further research is needed to clarify mechanisms linking intoxication and risky choice. The alcohol myopia model predicts that, due to alcohol's impact on attention, the behavior of intoxicated individuals who experience inhibition conflict will become increasingly directed by salient cues in the individual's environment (Steele & Josephs, 1990). Physiological arousal has similar effects on behavior, increasing dependence on salient environmental cues (Ward et al., 2008). Delay discounting may be one mechanism that accounts for risky sexual behavior and is a task that has been shown to be sensitive to the acute effects of alcohol (Reynolds et al., 2006). Discounting of delayed rewards may be increased by both alcohol and physiological arousal due to their common effects of narrowing attention to immediately salient cues. The proposed experiment will test effects of intoxication and physiological arousal on analogue sexual risk behavior and delay discounting. A path model will test indirect effects of intoxication and physiological arousal (and their interaction) on sexual risk behavior via delay discounting. To accomplish this, the proposed research will employ a 3 (alcohol intoxication, alcohol placebo, control) x 2 (high, low arousal) experimental design using a real-time delay discounting task and an analogue task of sexual risk taking as outcomes. The long-term goal of this project is to advance theoretical understanding of the effects of alcohol on decision- making processes and risk behavior. Improving our understanding of acute alcohol influences on decision- making processes can meaningfully inform future prevention programs. To achieve these goals, the proposed fellowship includes the following training components: (a) developing the applicant's scientific writing skills and productivity, (b) increasing the applicant's knowledge of alcohol research with an emphasis on mechanisms linking alcohol intoxication and psychosocial problems, and (c) further building the applicant's methodological and data analytic skills. Fellowship support will be used to enable focused study of alcohol research through mentorship, course work, applied experience, and guided reading. In addition, the fellowship will support learning new methodological and data analytic skills through mentoring, working with existing data, and course work. Lastly, the fellowship will support engagement with the scientific community through presentations at national conferences, collaboration with other alcohol researchers, and acquiring review experience. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Public health implications for the proposed project include an improved understanding of alcohol intoxication and other acute states that can lead to risky sexual practices, increasing the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV. Further implications include identification of mechanisms underlying preference for immediate rewards and examining associations between discounting of future rewards and risky choice. Enhanced understanding of mechanisms linking alcohol intoxication and risk behavior can inform prevention and intervention efforts.