title: Heart rate variability as an index of cue reactivity in alcoholics.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Autonomic responses follow exposure to conditioned stimuli such as contextual factors associated with alcohol ingestion. Heart rate variability is under autonomic control and may be a measure of such response.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty alcoholics and 23 matched social drinkers (all male) were exposed to a neutral cue and then an alcohol cue in identical settings, during which the electrocardiogram of these subjects was recorded. Time and frequency domain parameters of heart rate variability (HRV) were computed by a blind rater.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Coefficient of variation of R-R intervals and absolute powers of HRV spectrum (in frequency bands 0.05-0.15 Hz and 0.01-0.05 Hz) following alcohol cue were significantly higher in alcoholics than social drinkers. The mean heart rate (MHR) failed to reflect this difference.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HRV paradigm appears more sensitive than MHR to measure cue reactivity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rajan
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Murthy
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Ramakrishnan
authors.forename: B N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Gangadhar
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Janakiramaiah
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000503:physiopathology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological / Q000502:physiology; D003463:Cues; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male