Citation

Adams S, Attwood AS, Munafò MR. Hum. Psychopharmacol. 2017; 32(5): e2617.

Affiliation

MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit (IEU) at the University of Bristol, Bristol.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/hup.2617

PMID

28791734

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the following: (a) the effects of acute alcohol on delay discounting; (b) the effects of drinking status on delayed discounting; and (c) whether these effects differ according to reward type (alcohol vs. money).

METHODS: Heavy and light social alcohol users (n = 96) were randomized to receive either an acute dose of alcohol at 0.4 or 0.6 g/kg or placebo in a between-subjects, double-blind design. Delay discounting of alcohol and monetary rewards was measured using a hyperbolic model, with higher scores indicative of greater delay discounting.

RESULTS: ANOVA of discount scores indicated a main effect of reward type, where all participants had higher discount scores for alcohol versus money rewards. A main effect of drinking status was also observed, where heavier drinkers had higher discount scores compared with lighter drinkers. We did not observe a main effect of acute alcohol use on delay discounting or the hypothesized interactions between acute alcohol use and drinking status with reward type.

CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that heavier drinkers discount the value of delayed rewards more steeply than lighter drinkers. Delay discounting may therefore be a promising marker of heavy alcohol consumption in social drinkers.

Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Language: en

Keywords

alcohol; delay discounting; impulsivity