Heart-rate reactivity and alcohol consumption among sons of male alcoholics and sons of non-alcoholics.
Recent studies have demonstrated that sons of male alcoholics with multigenerational family histories of male alcoholism are characterized by sober heart-rate hyperreactivity to aversive stimuli, susceptibility to alcohol-induced dampening of that hyperreactivity and by increased resting heart rate while intoxicated. Regression analyses indicate that the magnitude of alcohol-induced change in resting and reactive cardiac response is significantly and powerfully associated with the degree of self-reported voluntary alcohol consumption among 85 non-alcoholic males who are either lacking or who have moderate or extensive family histories of male alcoholism. It appears that heightened sensitivity to alcohol-induced increase in resting and decrease in reactive heart rate might mark or underlie familial risk for developing alcoholism.
Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
J B
JB
Peterson
R O
RO
Pihl
J R
JR
Séguin
P R
PR
Finn
S H
SH
Stewart
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000235:genetics; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005190:Family; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*
D000431:Ethanol