Work

Sex Differences in Motivation to Self-administer Alcohol After Two Weeks of Abstinence in Young-adult Heavy Drinkers

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Studies in animal models document that forced abstinence from usual consumption of alcohol changes subsequent seeking and consumption; with increases or decreases depending on the species, duration of abstinence, number of deprivations, and sex. Human laboratory-based alcohol deprivation studies are rare. METHODS: We conducted a 2-session, within-participant, randomized-order comparison of intravenous, progressive ratio, alcohol self-administration during 2.5 hours of progressive work f+or alcohol and/or vehicle; once while the participants’ pursued their usual drinking habits and once after 2 weeks of closely monitored, voluntary outpatient abstinence from alcohol. The schedule of work for rewards and the incremental increases in breath alcohol concentration following completion of an alcohol work-set were identical across participants. Fifty young-adult (27 men), heavy-drinking participants completed both sessions. Our primary hypothesis was that motivation to work for alcohol after 2 weeks of abstinence would be greater in participants with a weekly binge pattern of drinking, compared to those who regularly drink heavily, and we intended to explore associations with biological family history of alcoholism and sex. RESULTS: We detected no change in work for alcohol associated with recent drinking history. However, females, on average, increased their work for alcohol upon resumption after 2 weeks of abstinence (mean ± sem = +16.3 ± 9.6 %) while males decreased that work (−24.8 ± 13.8 %). The sex difference was substantial and significant (p <.03), with a medium effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.63). CONCLUSION: We believe a more comprehensive study of mechanisms underlying the sex-differences in the human post abstinence response is warranted.

Source: PubMed Central

DOI: 10.1111/acer.13860