The antagonistic placebo response to alcohol cues.
The classical conditioning model of drug tolerance makes a strong prediction of an antagonistic placebo response, or a placebo response that is opposite in direction to the effect of alcohol. In an initial experiment, 85 normal social drinkers consumed near beer (0% alcohol) while autonomic measures were recorded continuously. Subjects who reported mild intoxication (n = 11) showed a significant decrease in heart rate from predrinking baseline compared to subjects who did not report intoxication (n = 57). In a replication study with a suitable control group, subjects who received near beer and reported mild intoxication (n = 8) showed a significant heart rate and electrodermal response opposite in direction to the autonomic effects of alcohol compared to a control group that received a soft drink (n = 10). The antagonist placebo response challenges current conceptualizations of placebo responding, and has implications for classical conditioning theories of alcoholism.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000187:drug effects; D003214:Conditioning, Classical; D003463:Cues; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005712:Galvanic Skin Response / Q000187:drug effects; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D010919:Placebos
D010919:Placebos; D000431:Ethanol