The proposed research seeks to provide a detailed profile of the electrophysiological response to alcohol in males at risk for developing alcoholism. Two groups of carefully screened and selected male college volunteers will be assessed on several electrophysiological measures at multiple time points during three 6 - 8 hour testing sessions. One group (SA:FH+) will include males whose fathers are alcoholic and whose fathers have at least one first degree alcoholic relative. The second group (SNA:FH-) will include sons of nonalcoholics whose family history does not show the presence of any alcoholism. The specific electrophysiological measures to be assessed will include 1) spectral analysis of the resulting EEG, 2) brainstem auditory evoked responses (BAERs), 3) amplitude and latency measures of N1 and P2, exogenous components of the visual and auditory event-related potential (ERP), and 4) amplitude and latency measures of P300, an endogenous component of the visual and auditory ERP. In addition, breath samples will be taken to estimate blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Behavioral measures include rating of subjective high and reaction time which will be obtained in each test block along with the electrophysiological measures. These measures will be assessed at specific time points in order to include the rising and falling portions of the BAC curve. This study is designed to offer the most complete assessment to date of the electrophysiological status of individuals at high risk for developing alcoholism. By making the assessment under sober and alcohol conditions, we hope to address the issue of the functional significance of electrophysiological differences between SA:FH+ and SNA:FH- individuals heretofore observed.
| Whipple, S C; Berman, S M; Noble, E P (1991) Event-related potentials in alcoholic fathers and their sons. Alcohol 8:321-7 |
| Whipple, S C; Parker, E S; Noble, E P (1988) An atypical neurocognitive profile in alcoholic fathers and their sons. J Stud Alcohol 49:240-4 |
