Comparative psychophysiological studies of alcoholic and nonalcoholic subjects undergoing experimentally induced ethanol intoxication

Four nonalcoholic and 4 alcoholic subjects were studied under metabolic ward conditions before, while, and after they underwent experimentally induced ethanol intoxication. Behavioral and psychophysiological findings obtained from each group are compared and contrasted. Nonalcoholic subjects showed aversive behavioral re-sponses to drinking and developed gastrointestinal signs and symptoms during the drinking phase of the experiment. The alcoholic subjects showed no aversive be-havioral or psychophysiological responses while drinking. Significant changes in rate of C14 ethanol metabolism following drinking were found in both groups, but the nonalcoholics tended to have lower rates of C14 ethanol metabolism prior to drinking. Findings of this experiment suggest that neural, gastrointestinal, and metabolic adaptational processes occur in alcoholics which differentiate them from nonalcoholic subjects.-/x SERIES of reports have recently ap- jects.1"3 Among the data obtained in our peared concerning the effects of chronic laboratory in previous studies of experi-alcohol administration to alcoholic sub- mentally induced intoxication in alco-holic subjects,1 the following findings ap