Exaggerated ethanol-induced cardiac reactivity as an indicator of increased risk for gambling.
Pathological gambling and alcohol dependence show a high rate of co-occurrence. Some individuals at risk for alcohol dependence display an exaggerated heart rate (HR) increase following alcohol consumption, a characteristic suggesting sensitivity to reward. This study examined whether exaggerated ethanol-induced cardiac reactivity was associated with increased gambling behaviors. One hundred five young men (M = 20.13 years, SD = 1.07) consumed 1 ml of ethanol (95% volume) per kilogram of body weight. HR was measured and participants completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS; H. R. Lesieur & S. B. Blume, 1987). Those with higher intoxicated HRs reported significantly greater scores on the SOGS (p = .02). This suggests that ethanol-induced HR increase is a possible marker for addictive disorders.
Brunelle
Caroline
C
Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada. brunelle@ego.psych.mcgill.ca
Assaad
Jean-Marc
JM
Pihl
Robert O
RO
Tremblay
Richard E
RE
Vitaro
Frank
F
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015415:Biomarkers; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005715:Gambling / Q000523:psychology*; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011792:Quebec; D012201:Reward; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric
D015415:Biomarkers