Different drink cues elicit different physiological responses in non-dependent drinkers

Abstract

Different kinds of physiological response to stimuli which have been associated with alcohol ingestion have been observed in human subjects. A literature review shows that when subjects are exposed to alcohol associated stimuli without consuming the drinks then increases in arousal, as indexed by skin conductance and heart rate increases, tend to occur. If subjects consume drinks which have been associated with alcohol ingestion, then decreases in arousal tend to occur. Forty non-dependent drinkers were asked to either consume or hold drinks which either had a history of alcohol association or did not. Interactions were observed between the activities subjects engaged in with the drinks and the degree of alcohol association of the drinks. Presentation of alcohol associated drinks produced smaller increases in arousal than non-alcohol associated drinks if the drinks were consumed but vice versa if the drinks were just held. The results support the conclusions drawn from the literature review and have implications for current theories of conditioned responses to drug cues and the related theories of the motivational processes involved in the regulation of drug intake.