title: Personality and the effects of acute alcohol intake. A contingent negative variation study in healthy subjects.
abstract: This study investigates the relationship between blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) and contingent negative variation (CNV). Fourteen healthy subjects were divided on the basis of their personality profiles--the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (Hs+Hy+D/3)--into a high score (HS) and low score (LS) subgroup. The CNV was recorded using a choice-reaction time (RT) task. CNV recording was performed in two conditions: inter-stimulus intervals (ISIs) of 1500 ms and 2500 ms at three different BACs (0.3, 0.5 and 0.8 g/L) after acute alcohol administration. At the high BAC (0.8 g/L), both subgroups showed a reduced CNV amplitude area and a longer RT (p<.05) in both ISI conditions. No effects either on the CNV or on the RT were observed at the low BAC (0.3 g/L). At the intermediate BAC (0.5 g/L), the HS subgroup displayed an increased CNV amplitude (p<.05), not accompanied by a significantly longer RT (short ISI condition), and a reduced late CNV (p<.05) with a longer RT (p<.05) (long ISI condition). In the LS group, only a longer RT was observed in the long ISI condition. CNV modifications point to an individual, apparently personality-related, threshold of sensitivity to different alcohol levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Otolaryngology, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy. francesco.fattapposta@uniroma1.it
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fattapposta
authors.forename: Piero
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Venturi
authors.forename: Ozrem
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Carella Prada
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Costamagna
authors.forename: Carmelo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: D'Alessio
authors.forename: Mirella
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mostarda
authors.forename: Concetta
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mina
authors.forename: Leoluca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Parisi
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pirro
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Amabile
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000097:blood* / Q000523:psychology; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D003265:Contingent Negative Variation / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D004056:Differential Threshold; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology*; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D012016:Reference Values; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol