Abstract
Preference for ethanol (versus placebo) and diazepam (versus placebo) was assessed in light and moderate social drinkers. The study was designed to investigate the relationship of habitual alcohol use to the subjective and behavioral effects of the two drugs. A secondary purpose of the study was to investigate relationships within subjects in their responses to ethanol and diazepam. Light drinkers (n=13) who consumed one to five drinks per week and moderate drinkers (n=14) who consumed seven or more drinks per week participated in two seven-session choice experiments, one assessing preference for 0.5 g/kg ethanol versus placebo and the other assessing preference for 20 mg diazepam versus placebo. Drugs were administered double-blind and double-dummy, and the order of participation in the two experiments was counterbalanced. Sessions were conducted during the evenings in a comfortable laboratory environment. The primary dependent measure was the number of times each subject chose the drug (i.e., ethanol or diazepam) over placebo. Subjective and objective measures of the drugs' effects were obtained using standardized self-report questionnaires and psychomotor tests. Whereas both groups preferred the ethanol over placebo (i.e., 63% and 83% ethanol choice for light and moderate drinkers, respectively), only the moderate drinkers preferred the diazepam over placebo (i.e., 40% and 73% diazepam choice for light and moderate drinkers, respectively). Subjective responses to the drugs were generally similar across the groups, although on some measures the light drinkers reported more marked drug effects. The number of times each subject chose ethanol was positively correlated with the number of times he or she chose diazepam (r=0.57), and on subjective measures, responses to ethanol and diazepam were positively correlated. Thus, subjective and behavioral responses to diazepam and ethanol were related to habitual alcohol consumption, and most notably, moderate drinkers were more likely than light drinkers to prefer diazepam over a placebo.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatric Association (1987) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Washington, DC
Cahalan D, Cisin IH, Crossley HM (1969) American drinking practices: a national study of drinking behavior and attitudes. In: Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies, Monograph No. 6. New Brunswick, N.J.
Ciraulo DA, Barnhill JG, Greenblatt DJ, Shader RI, Ciraulo AM, Tarmey MF, Molloy MA, Foti ME (1988) Abuse liability and clinical pharmacokinetics of alprazolam in alcoholic men. J Clin Psychiatry 49: 333–337
Ciraulo DA, Barnhill JG, Ciraulo AM, Greenblatt DJ, Shader RI (1989) Parental alcoholism as a risk factor in benzodiazepine abuse: a pilot study. Am J Psychiatry 146: 1333–1335
Cowley DS, Roy-Byrne PP, Gordon C, Greenblatt DJ, Ries R, Walker RD, Samson HH, Hommer DW (1992) Response to diazepam in sons of alcoholics. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 16: 1057–1063
Crabbe JC (1986) Genetic differences in locomotor activation in mice. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 25: 289–292
Derogatis L (1983) SCL-90-R Manual II. Clinical Psychometric Research Towson, Md
de Wit H, Griffiths RR (1991) Testing the abuse liability of anxiolytic and hypnotic drugs in humans. Drug Alcohol Depend 28: 83–111
de Wit H, Uhlenhuth EH, Pierri J, Johanson CE (1987) Individual differences in behavioral and subjective responses to alcohol. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 11: 52–59
de Wit H, Pierri J, Johanson CE (1989a) Assessing individual differences in ethanol preference using a cumulative dosing procedure. Psychopharmacology 98: 113–119
de Wit H, Pierri J, Johanson CE (1989b) Reinforcing and subjective effects of diazepam in nondrug-abusing volunteers. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 33: 205–213
Griffiths RR, Bigelow GE, Liebson I, Kaliszak JE (1980) Drug preference in humans: Double-blind choice comparison of pentobarbital, diazepam and placebo. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 215: 649–661.
Haertzen CA, Kocher TR, Miyasato K (1983) Reinforcement from the first drug experience can predict later drug habits and/or addiction: results with coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, barbiturates, minor and major tranquilizers, stimulants, marijuana, hallucinogens, heroin, opiates and cocaine. Drug Alcohol Depend 11: 147–165
Jaffe J, Ciraulo D, Niles A, Monroe L (1983) Abuse potential of halazepam and of diazepam in patients recently treated for acute alcohol withdrawal. Clin Pharmacol 34: 623–630
Johanson CE, Uhlenhuth EH (1980) Drug preference and mood in humans: Diazepam. Psychopharmacology 71: 269–273
Martin WR, Sloan JW, Sapira JD, Jasinski DR (1971) Physiologic, subjective and behavioral effects of amphetamine, methamphetamine, ephedrine, phenmetrazine and methylphenidate in man. Clin Pharmacol Ther 12: 245–258
McNair D, Lorr M, Droppleman L (1971) Profile of mood states. Educational and Industrial Testing Service, San Diego.
Parrott AC, Hindmarch I (1980) The Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire in psychopharmacological investigations: a review. Psychopharmacology 71: 173–179
Phillips TJ, Burkhart-Kasch S, Gwiadon CC, Crabbe JC (1992) Acute sensitivity of fast and slow mice to the effects of abused drugs on locomotor activity. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 261: 525–533
Phillips TJ, Gallagher EJ (1992) Locomotor responses to benzodiazepines, barbiturates and ethanol in diazepam sensitive (DS) and resistant (DR) mice. Psychopharmacology 107: 125–131
Samson HH, Maxwell CO, Doyle TF (1989) The relation of initial alcohol experiences to current alcohol consumption in a college population. J Stud Alcohol 50: 254–260
Schuckit MA (1984) Subjective responses to alcohol in sons of alcoholics and control subjects. Arch Gen Psychiatry 41: 879–884
Schuckit MA, Greenblatt D, Gold M, Irwin M (1991) Reactions to ethanol and diazepam in healthy young men. J Stud Alcohol 52: 180–187
Schutz RW, Gessaroli ME (1987) The analysis of repeated measures designs involving multiple dependent variables. Res Q Exercise Sport 58: 132–149
Suzdak P, Paul S (1987) Ethanol stimulates GABA receptor-mediated C1-ion flux in vitro: possible relations to the anxiolytic and intoxicating actions of alcohol. Psychol Bull 23: 445–451
Waller MB, Murphy JM, McBride WJ, Lumeng L, Li TK (1986) Effect of low dose ethanol on spontaneous motor activity in alcohol-preferring and -non-preferring lines of rats. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 24: 617–623
Wechsler D (1958) The measurement and appraisal of adult intelligence. Williams & Wilkins, Baltimore
Woods JH, Katz JL, Winger G (1992) Benzodiazepines: use, abuse and consequences. Pharmacol Rev 44: 151–347
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
de Wit, H., Doty, P. Preference for ethanol and diazepam in light and moderate social drinkers: a within-subjects study. Psychopharmacology 115, 529–538 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02245577
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02245577