A family history of Type 1 alcoholism differentiates alcohol consumption in high cortisol responders to stress

• Background: The differentiation between high and low cortisol responders to stress is of interest in determining the risk factors which may, along with genetic vulnerability, influence alcohol intake. Study 1: Methods: Thirty-two healthy volunteers, family history positive to alcoholism (FHP, n = 16) and family history negative (FUN, n = 16) attended two laboratory sessions during which alcohol or placebo was offered. Results: There were no differences in consumption of alcohol or placebo between FHP and FHN subjects. Study 2: Methods: Fifty-eight healthy social drinkers, FHP (n = 27) and FUN (n = 31) attended two laboratory sessions. They were administered either alcohol or placebo in both sessions they attended. All subjects underwent either a stress task (the Trier Social Stress Test, TSST) or a stress-free period, at two separate occasions, before being offered beverage. After the salivary cortisol analysis, subjects in each group were divided into high (HCR) or low (LCR) cortisol responders. Results: After stress, subjects who were FHP-HCR consumed more alcohol than FHN-HCR. There were no differences in the placebo intake between FHP and FHN subjects regardless of their cortisol response. Conclusions: This result indicates that stress promotes alcohol consumption only in subjects with a family history of Type 1 alcoholism who show an increase in cortisol response to stress. This behaviour is similar to that previously observed in alcohol dependent individuals after stress and thus could represent an endophenotype posing a risk for future development of alcohol use disorders. (C) 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Neurovetenskaper (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Neurosciences (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Farmakologi och toxikologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Pharmacology and Toxicology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Alcohol

Family history of alcoholism

Stress

TSST

High and low cortisol responders

PITUITARY-ADRENAL AXIS

ASSISTED SELF-INFUSION

PSYCHOSOCIAL STRESS

HPA-AXIS

PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS

SALIVARY CORTISOL

VOLUNTARY ALCOHOL

HEALTHY-SUBJECTS

SOCIAL DRINKERS

RESPONSES

Behavioral Sciences

Neurosciences

Pharmacology & Pharmacy

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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