The proposed research will focus upon alcohol problems in women. Biological, behavioral and social antecedents and consequences of alcohol use and abuse will be studied in women with a recent history of regular or occasional alcohol use. The acute and chronic effects of alcohol on effective state, social interaction, and neuroendocrine homeostasis will be examined under controlled inpatient research ward conditions where other drug use cannot influence results obtained and the safety and comfort of the subjects is assured. Biological studies will examine alcohol effects on neuroendocrine hormones which are essential for female reproductive function. An association between alcohol abuse and hormonal dysfunction in men is well established. Chronic alcohol self-administration by female monkeys induces a major disruption of pituitary-gonadal function. Acute effects of alcohol on reproductive hormones (compared with placebo under double-blind condtions) will be studied in three groups of women during the periovulatory, midfollicular, and late luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. The biobehavioral effects of 21 days of alcohol availability will be examined in the same women over one menstrual cycle. Episodic secretory profiles of LH, FSH, prolactin, estradiol and progesterone will be studied with integrated plasma sampling techniques and radioimmunoassays. Quantitative behavioral measures of alcohol acquisition will be combined with clinical and psychometric indices of mood, intoxication and social interaction patterns. Analysis of the covariance between these measures, menstrual cycle phase and drinking patterns should clarify the proximal determinants and consequences of alcohol use in women. Since alcohol disruption of normal female reproductive hormonal regulation could impair procreation and adversely affect fetal development, it is important to evaluate alcohol's effects systematically under controlled conditions. Data obtained should clarify the antecedent and consequences of alcohol problems in women and indicate the similarity to or differences from alcohol abuse in men.
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