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.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AA006252-04
Application #
3109463
Study Section
(SSS)
Project Start
1983-09-29
Project End
1987-08-31
Budget Start
1986-09-01
Budget End
1987-08-31
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
1986
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Mc Lean Hospital (Belmont, MA)
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Belmont
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02478
Lex, B W; Goldberg, M E; Mendelson, J H et al. (1994) Components of antisocial personality disorder among women convicted for drunken driving. Ann N Y Acad Sci 708:49-58
Lex, B W; Rhoades, E M; Teoh, S K et al. (1994) Divided attention task performance and subjective effects following alcohol and placebo: differences between women with and without a family history of alcoholism. Drug Alcohol Depend 35:95-105
Chiu, T M; Mendelson, J H; Woods, B T et al. (1994) In vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy detection of human alcohol tolerance. Magn Reson Med 32:511-6
Lukas, S E; Dobrosielski, M; Chiu, T M et al. (1993) A nonferrous instrumental joystick device for recording behavioral responses during magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 46:781-5
Woods, B T; Douglass, A; Gescuk, B (1991) Is the VBR still a useful measure of changes in the cerebral ventricles? Psychiatry Res 40:1-10
Lex, B W (1991) Some gender differences in alcohol and polysubstance users. Health Psychol 10:121-32
Lex, B W; Ellingboe, J E; Teoh, S K et al. (1991) Prolactin and cortisol levels following acute alcohol challenges in women with and without a family history of alcoholism. Alcohol 8:383-7
Kroft, C L; Gescuk, B; Woods, B T et al. (1991) Brain ventricular size in female alcoholics: an MRI study. Alcohol 8:31-4
Lex, B W; Sholar, J W; Bower, T et al. (1991) Putative type II alcoholism characteristics in female third DUI offenders in Massachusetts: a pilot study. Alcohol 8:283-7
Teoh, S K; Mendelson, J H; Mello, N K et al. (1990) Alcohol effects on hCG-stimulated gonadal hormones in women. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 254:407-11

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