0145-6008/93/1701-0135$3.00/0 zyxwvutsrqponm ALCOHOLISM: CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH zyxwvutsrqpo Vol. zyx 17. No. I January/February 1993 Anticipated Stimulant and Sedative Effects of Alcohol Vary with Dosage and Limb of the Blood Alcohol Curve Mitchell Earleywine and Christopher S. Martin Anticipations of alcohol’s effects reportedly covary with the amount consumed. Alcohol’s stimulant and sedative properties also may contribute to alcohol consumption. Anticipations of stimulant and sedative effects have not been investigated extensively. The present study examined the stimulant and sedative effects subjects antici- pated experiencing if they were on the ascending or descending limb of the blood alcohol curve after consuming two or four standard drinks. One hundred sixty-six undergraduatesreported anticipating greater stimulant effects than sedative effects on the ascending limb of the blood alcohol curve, and greater sedative effects than stimu- lant effects on the descending limb. Subjects also reported antici- pating larger effects with larger doses. Men tended to anticipate smaller effects than women. These results support the notion that specific anticipated effects vary with dosage and the limb of blood alcohol curve, suggesting that the study of anticipated effects of alcohol should employ these variables. Key Words: Anticipated Effects, Subjective Effects, Ascending Limb, Descending Limb. WO FACTORS MAY help determine alcohol con- T sumption: (1) the anticipation of alcohol’s effects, and (2) the stimulant and sedative effects of the drug. Those who anticipate that alcohol will enhance desired emotions or behaviors imbibe in greater quantities or more often.’- People may acquire these anticipations in numerous ways, with or without ingesting alcohol. Observing the behaviors of others who drink (both in person and in the media) can contribute to anticipations about alcohol’s effects. Learning the envisioned effects of alcohol for a particular culture or subgroup from the relevant stories, rules, and rituals that may pertain to consumption can also contribute to anticipated effects of alcohoL2In addi- tion to these vicarious ways of learning, experience with the actual pharmacologic effects of alcohol may also alter anticipations of alcohol’s effects and drinking habits. Al- though many anticipations of alcohol’s effects are inde- pendent of pharma~ology,~ one’s own responses to alcohol can contribute to anticipations about the next experience with the drug.’ Two pharmacological effects that may be particularly relevant to alcohol consumption concern stimulation and sedation. The stimulation that a drug produces for an zyxwvu From the Department zyxwvutsrq of Psychology. University of Southern Calfor- nia. Los Angeles, California zyxwvutsrqpon (M. E.); and Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Piusburgh. Pennsylvania (C. S.M.). Received for publicaiion March 9. 1992; accepted June I, I992 Reprint requests: Dr. M. Earleywine, University of Southern Calqor- nia. Department of Psychology, Seeley G. Mudd Building, Room 904, Los Angeles, CA 90089-1061. zyxwvutsrq Alcohol Clin Evp Res. Vol 17, No I. 1993: pp 135- I39 Copyright zyxwvutsrqpon 0 1993 by The Research Society on Alcoholism. individual may serve as an index of the drug’s reinforcing proper tie^,^.^ and influence subsequent use of the drug.’v8 In general, drugs that produce more stimulation are con- sidered more reinforcing and more likely to be used again. Sedative effects may also influence drinking behavior; heavier drinkers anticipate fewer sedative effects of alcohol than lighter drinker^.'.'^ Few studies have combined research on anticipations and the stimulant and sedative effects of alcohol. Given the importance of the anticipation of effects as well as stimulant and sedative effects as contributors to alcohol consumption, an examination of anticipated stimulant and sedative effects may prove useful. Nevertheless, simple questions about general anticipated stimulant and sedative effects of alcohol are inappropriate because these effects are not consistent for every dose or across the entire blood alcohol curve. The effects reportedly can vary markedly with dosage and limb. Research suggests that lower doses of alcohol produce stimulant effects, whereas higher doses produce sedative effects. I Other work suggests that stim- ulant effects occur primarily on the ascending limb of the blood alcohol curve, whereas sedative effects occur pri- marily on the descending limb.12,’3 This differential effect on the two limbs of the blood alcohol curve has been labeled the biphasic response to alcohol. Ignoring the biphasic response to alcohol in the assessment of antici- pations or stimulant and sedative effects may obscure results. The effects and their anticipations may vary with the limb of the blood alcohol curve. Given that dosage and limb alter the magnitude of alcohol’s stimulant and sedative effects, perhaps individ- uals’ anticipations of the effects also vary with these pa- rameters. Anticipated effects of alcohol on social and nonsocial behaviors vary with dosage. Subjects expect moderate doses of alcohol to alter social behaviors more markedly than nonsocial behaviors. In contrast, individ- uals expect larger doses to alter nonsocial behaviors more than social ones.14 These dose-dependent differences in anticipated changes from alcohol may extend to stimulant and sedative effects. Southwick and her colleagues15 found that people anticipated greater feelings of dominance and disinhibition with smaller doses and more behavioral im- pairment for larger doses. Individuals may anticipate stim- ulant effects from smaller doses and sedative effects from larger doses. The current study examined anticipated stimulant and sedative effects for two dosages at two different times after drinking. The link between these anticipated effects and 135