Internet and Psychiatry

Kamarajan C, Porjesz B, Jones KA, Choi K, Chorlian DB, Padmanabhapillai A, Rangaswamy M, Stimus AT, Begleiter H. Biol Psychol. 2005 Jul;69(3):353-73.

Response inhibition is considered a core dimension in alcoholism and its co- existing disorders. The major objective of this study is to compare the magnitude and spatial distribution of ERP components during response activation and inhibition in alcoholics (N = 30) and normal controls (N = 30) using a visual Go/No-Go task. The results indicate that alcoholics manifest a decreased P3(00) amplitude during Go as well as No-Go conditions. The difference between Go and No-Go processing was more evident in controls than in alcoholics. The topography of current source density in alcoholics during the P3 response was found to be very different from that of normals, suggesting that alcoholics perhaps activated inappropriate brain circuitry during cognitive processing. The significantly reduced No-Go P3 along with the relatively less anteriorized CSD topography during No-Go condition suggests poor inhibitory control in alcoholics. It is proposed that the No-Go P3, the electrophysiological signature of response inhibition, can be considered as an endophenotypic marker in alcoholism.

Sher L, Oquendo MA, Galfalvy HC, Grunebaum MF, Burke AK, Zalsman G, Mann JJ. Addict Behav. 2005 Jul;30(6):1144-53.

BACKGROUND: Alcoholism and depression are often comorbid. Studies suggest that depressed subjects with alcoholism have more chronic impairment and suicidal behavior than individuals with either diagnosis alone. The reason for higher rate of suicide and suicide attempts in comorbid subjects is uncertain. We explored clinical characteristics that may be associated with this increased suicidality.

METHODS: In all, 219 depressed subjects (n=62 males and n=157 females) without a history of any alcohol or substance use disorder and 129 (n=49 males and n=80 females) depressed individuals with a prior history of alcohol use disorder participated in the study. Demographic and clinical parameters were assessed and recorded.

RESULTS: Depressed subjects with a history of alcoholism had higher lifetime aggression and impulsivity, and were more likely to report a history of childhood abuse, suicide attempts, and tobacco smoking. Depressed suicide ideators with a history of alcoholism had higher suicide ideation scores than depressed suicide ideators without a history of alcoholism. Subjects with a history of alcoholism were younger at the time of the first depressive episode and first hospitalization than those without a history of alcoholism. Logistic regression analysis indicated that alcoholism was significantly associated with smoking and aggression. Suicidal behavior and higher suicidal ideation in depressed subjects with a history of alcoholism might be attributed to higher aggression scores in this group.

CONCLUSION: The greater frequency of suicidal behavior and severity of suicidal ideation in major depression with comorbid alcoholism appears related to associated aggressive traits. Alcoholism, aggression, smoking, and suicide may have a common biological causal substrate.

Finn PR, Bobova L, Wehner E, Fargo S, Rickert ME. Addiction. 2005 Jul;100(7):953-62.

AIMS: Research suggests that positive alcohol expectancies promote excessive alcohol use while negative alcohol expectancies discourage excessive alcohol use. Evidence suggests that disinhibitory characteristics, such as conduct disorder and impulsivity, are associated with a general neglect of long-term negative outcomes. This study assessed whether negative expectancies would be associated more strongly with lower levels of alcohol use for low- compared with high-impulsive individuals.

DESIGN: Positive and negative alcohol expectancies, alcohol use and impulsivity were assessed in a sample of 99 young adults with alcohol dependence (AD) and conduct disorder (CD), 77 with AD and no CD and 124 controls.

FINDINGS: AD/CD subjects had higher proximal (same day) and distal (next day) negative alcohol expectancies, even though they drank more alcohol, compared with AD-alone and control subjects. Distal negative expectancies were associated more strongly with lower levels of drinking for low-impulsive compared with high-impulsive subjects. Proximal negative expectancies were associated more strongly with higher alcohol consumption for high- versus low-impulsive subjects.

CONCLUSIONS: Impulsivity and conduct disorder may be important factors in determining how much distal negative alcohol expectancies may discourage excessive alcohol consumption.

Meyerhoff DJ, Bode C, Nixon SJ, de Bruin EA, Bode JC, Seitz HK. H Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2005 Jul;29(7):1334-40.

This article presents the proceedings of a symposium held at the meeting of the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ISBRA) in Mannheim, Germany, in October 2004.

Most of what we know about the deleterious effects of alcohol in vivo has been gleaned from studies in sober alcoholics recruited from substance abuse treatment programs. Little is known about effects of chronic drinking in the moderate or heavy range encountered in a much larger fraction of modern society. Extrapolation of information on the adverse effects of chronic drinking on organ function from clinical samples to social drinkers in the general population has to be met with great skepticism, as it may lead to wrong conclusions about the chronic effects of alcohol in social drinkers.

Cheng JY, Chan DT, Mok VK. Forensic Sci Int. 2005 Oct 29;153(2-3):196-201.

This study is designed to evaluate the correlation between fatal vehicle crashes (FVC) and consumption of alcohol and/or drugs among drivers.

Between 1996 and 2000 in Hong Kong, a total of 197 FVC cases of deceased drivers were investigated.

Mameli M, Zamudio PA, Carta M, Valenzuela CF. J Neurosci. 2005 Aug 31;25(35):8027-36.

Ethanol exposure during fetal development is a leading cause of learning disabilities. Studies suggest that it alters learning and memory by permanently damaging the hippocampus. It is generally assumed that this is mediated, in part, via alterations in glutamatergic transmission. Although NMDA receptors are presumed to be the most sensitive targets of ethanol in immature neurons, this issue has not been explored in the developing hippocampus.