title: Lithium carbonate and ethanol induced "highs" in normal subjects.
abstract: The responses of twenty-three normal male subjects to a standardized dose of 95% ethanol (1.32 ml/kg of body weight) were compared after two weeks of placebo and two weeks of therapeutic serum lithium ion levels (mean 0.91 mEq/liter). The study was a placebo controlled, split-half crossover, double-blind design. Prealcohol and postalcohol responses were assessed by self-rating scales of affect and mood, independent rater observation, perceptual-motor, and cognitive performance tasks. Pretreatment by lithium carbonate neither blocked nor dampened an alcohol-induced subjective "high" in normal subjects. A complex reciprocal interaction may exist between the effects of lithium and alcohol upon other behavioral attributes. Alcohol was seen to reverse aspects of lithium-induced dysphoria and there is a suggestion that lithium may attenuate alcohol-induced cognitive inefficiency.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000188:drug therapy; D001519:Behavior / Q000187:drug effects; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D004336:Drug Antagonism; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005059:Euphoria / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008094:Lithium / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000187:drug effects; D010919:Placebos; D012647:Self-Assessment; D012919:Social Behavior / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D010919:Placebos; D000431:Ethanol; D008094:Lithium