Tridimensional Personality Traits in Sons of Alcoholic and Nonalcoholic Fathers

Sons of alcoholics (SOAs; n = 27) and sons of nonalcoholics (SONAs; n = 23) were compared across Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ) and Sensation Seeking scales and measures of plasma homovanillic acid and platelet monoamine oxidase activity. SOAs and SONAs did not differ significantly on any measure. The pattern of correlations between TPQ and Sensation Seeking scales provided some support for the construct validity of TPQ measures. Scores on the TPQ Novelty Seeking scale and platelet monoamine oxidase activity were significantly inversely associated ( r =–0.52, p < 0.02) among SOAs, but not among SONAs ( r =–0.06).     

Eye Movement Effects of Diazepam in Sons of Alcoholic Fathers and Male Control Subjects

Both animal and human studies suggest that the GABA-benzodiaze-pine receptor complex may be involved in the acute effects of ethanol, as well as the development of tolerance and dependence with chronic ethanol use. The current study was performed to assess sensitivity to benzodiazepines, and thus the functional sensitivity of the GABA-benzodiazepine receptor system, in subjects at high risk for alcoholism. Sons of alcoholic fathers (SOAs; n = 27) were com-pared with male controls without a family history of alcoholism (n = 23) in response to diazepam versus placebo. SOAs and controls received four logarithmically increasing doses of intravenous diaze-pam or placebo in randomized order on 2 days at least 1 week apart. Effects of diazepam were assessed using two eye movement tasks, peak saccadic eye movement velocity, and average smooth pursuit eye movement gain, which provide reliable, quantitative measures of benzodiazepine effects. In addition, memory, self-rated sedation, and pleasurable drug effects were measured. In comparison with control subjects, SOAs displayed significantly less diazepam effects on peak saccade velocity, average smooth pursuit gain, memory, and self-rated sedation, but significantly greater pleasurable drug effects. Differences in response to diazepam between SOAs and male controls may reflect altered functional sensitivity of the central GABA-benzodiazepine receptor system or a more general difference between groups in the effects of CNS active or sedating drugs.     

Effect of Diazepam on Plasma γ-Aminobutyric Acid in Sons of Alcoholic Fathers

A subgroup of abstinent alcoholics display low levels of plasma γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Two previous studies of plasma GABA in sons of alcoholic fathers (SOAs) have yielded conflicting results. The aim of the current study was to measure plasma GABA both at baseline and after challenge with diazepam, a GABA_A receptor agonist, in a group of SOAs already shown to display decreased eye movement, memory, and sedative effects of diazepam. Twenty-seven SOAs and 23 male control subjects received four logarithmically increasing doses of diazepam or placebo in randomized order on 2 days at least 1 week apart. Plasma GABA was measured at baseline and after the last dose. There were no significant differences between SOAs and controls in baseline plasma GABA levels. In the whole sample, there were significant correlations between baseline plasma GABA and both high novelty-seeking and low-harm avoidance scores on the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire. Both SOAs and controls displayed decreases in plasma GABA over time on both testing days, but there was no effect of diazepam on plasma GABA and no significant difference between groups in plasma GABA response to diazepam. These results suggest that neither low plasma GABA at baseline nor altered plasma GABA response to diazepam is associated with increased genetic risk for alcoholism.     

Responses by Sons of Alcoholic Fathers to Alcoholic and Placebo Drinks: Perceived Mood, Intoxication, and Plasma Prolactin

Young adult sons of alcoholic fathers (HR) were compared with matched young men from families without alcoholic relatives (LR) with respect to perceived mood, perceived intoxication, and plasma prolactin responses to oral challenge with two doses of alcohol and a placebo drink. HR subjects were found to have a qualitatively and quantitatively different mood response than controls to all three beverage conditions. HR subjects endorsed greater tension, depression, and fatigue across beverage conditions independent of alcohol dose. Alcohol dose interacted with risk status for perceived anger, vigor, and confusion. HR subjects reported less perceived intoxication on the descending limb of the alcohol concentration-time curve across all three conditions. These differential responses could not be explained by the occurrence of personality subtypes determined through administration of the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire. A significantly reduced prolactin response to alcohol in HR subjects could not be confirmed. Perceived mood effects of alcohol could have etiological significance in the development of alcoholism among HR individuals.     

Cognitive Status of Sons of Alcoholic Men

Sons of community dwelling alcoholic, depressed, and normal men were administered a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests. A generalized cognitive deficit was not found in the sons of alcoholics. The sons of alcoholics demonstrated greater ataxia than offspring in the two control groups and also performed more poorly on tests measuring visual scanning and attention, planning ability, and impulse control. These findings raise the possibility that an anterior cerebral dysfunction underlies the cognitive deficit observed in children of alcoholics.     

Learning and Memory Capacity in Sons of Alcoholic Men

Male offspring, ages 12–17, of alcoholic and normal social-drinking men were compared on a battery of tests measuring intellectual ability, academic achievement, and learning and memory. The sons of alcoholic men were found to have significantly lower verbal IQ and achievement scores but did not perform more poorly on tests of learning and memory.     

气功对老年人脑干听觉诱发电位影响的初步探讨

本文随机选择了20名老年前期及老年期受试者(男18人,女2人,51～70岁)。于接受气功治疗前后分别作脑干听觉诱发电位检查。结果发现:(1)各波PL的变化:30耳I波PL提前,平均提前0.16mg(P<0.01);(2)波形改善、12耳波形分化及重复性较气功治疗前明显改善,2只耳无波、在气功治疗后出波且波形接近正常。3耳无V波,气功后分化清晰且重复性好,这些结果表明,气功内气外放的电磁波可改善脑干功能,因此提示利用诱发电位可研究气功对人体的作用。     

Auditory Event-Related Potentials in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Down's Syndrome Children

Abnormal or borderline electroencephalograms are commonly observed in cases of gross mental retardation. However, fewer studies have focused on the use of event-related responses to aid in the differential diagnosis of developmental cognitive disorders. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and Down syndrome represent the most common known causes of mental retardation in the Western world. Although Down syndrome is easily diagnosed with a chromosome assay, FAS can be more difficult to diagnose since the diagnostic features are more subjectively based. The present study is the first to characterize auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) in children with FAS and contrast them to subjects with Down syndrome and controls. A passive auditory "oddball-plus-noise" paradigm was utilized to elicit ERPs. Parietal P300 latencies in response to the noise-burst stimuli for the FAS children were significantly longer, as were the P300s from all cortical sites in Down syndrome subjects in response to the both the infrequent tone and noise-burst stimuli when compared with the controls. Frontal P300s in Down syndrome children were significantly larger in amplitude compared to the controls and FAS children in response to the infrequent tone. A discriminant function analysis also revealed that these children could be correctly classified as being either Down syndrome, FAS, or normal controls using measures of latency and amplitude of the P300. These data suggest that an evaluation of ERP characteristics may provide a better understanding of the differences between FAS and Down syndrome children, and prove to be an aid in the early identification of children with FAS. These results demonstrate neurophysiological differences between FAS and Down syndrome, and suggest that P300 amplitude and latency data collected from a passive ERP task may be helpful in the discrimination of developmental cognitive disorders.     

Audiogenic Seizure Susceptibility and Auditory Brainstem Responses in Rats Prenatally Exposed to Alcohol

Rats prenatally exposed to alcohol (0%, 17.5%, or 35% ethanol-derived calories) were tested for audiogenic seizure susceptibility on one of postnatal days 18 to 23, then retested 5 days later. Prenatal alcohol exposure did not influence audiogenic seizure susceptibility or severity. There was, however, a significant increase in seizure incidence on the retest day for all groups, suggesting a priming effect. Auditory brainstem response (ABR) data suggested that prenatal alcohol exposure and acoustic trauma (i.e., exposure to an alarm bell used for eliciting audiogenic seizures) induced measurable sensorineural hearing loss, and that the combined exposure to alcohol and acoustic trauma interacted additively to produce greater hearing loss than either alone.     

Low Dose of Ethanol Suppresses Mismatch Negativity of Auditory Event-Related Potentials

The acute effect of a low dose of ethanol (0.5 g/kg) on attention and auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) was investigated in 10 social drinkers using a single-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over design. A dichotic listening task, in which the subjects were instructed to attend selectively to stimuli to one ear while ignoring stimuli to the other, was used. The amplitudes of N1, P2, and the mismatch negativity (MMN) were significantly diminished by alcohol. The latencies of the MMN and N2b were also significantly increased after alcohol ingestion. The novel finding of the significant (>60% reduction in amplitude) suppression of the MMN can be interpreted as indicating disturbed preconscious detection of acoustic changes outside the scope of attention. Because this is a prerequisite to an attentional shift, the MMN suppression may be related to increased risk for accidents after alcohol ingestion. The same dose of alcohol that suppressed the MMN left intact selective attention and conscious "target" detection, as reflected by the processing negativity and P3 deflections, thus suggesting that the automatic functions of human information processing are more sensitive to alcohol than the controlled, attentional functions.     

Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials in Children with Prenatal Exposure to Zika Virus

Prenatal exposure to ZIKV can cause neurologic and auditory damage. The electrophysiological responses obtained by Cortical Auditory Evoked Potentials (CAEP) may provide an objective method to investigate the function of cortical auditory pathways in children exposed to ZIKV. This case series analyzed the findings of CAEP in prenatal-period ZIKV-exposed children with and without microcephaly. The CAEP was performed in a total of 24 children. Five magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images of the inner ear and brain of microcephalic children were analyzed and compared with CAEP measurements. Ventriculomegaly (80%), cortical/subcortical calcification (80%), and brain reduction (60%) were the most common alterations in the MRI. The P1-N1-P2 complex of the CAEP was observed in all children evaluated. The peak N2 was absent in two children. In the comparison of the CAEP measurements between the groups, children with microcephaly presented a higher amplitude of P2 (p = 0.017), which may reflect immaturity of the auditory pathways. Microcephalic and normocephalic children with prenatal exposure to ZIKV presented with the mandatory components of the CAEPs, regardless of changes in the CNS, suggesting that this population has, to some extent, the cortical ability to process sound stimuli preserved.     

Relationships between Neuropsychological Test Performance and Event-Related Potentials in Alcoholic and Nonalcoholic Samples

Are event-related potentials and nonconcurrently measured neuropsychological test performance correlated? Sober male and female middle-aged alcoholics and peer controls were administered an “oddball” event-related potential (ERP) task and several hours later, a battery of neuropsychological (NP) tests. Alcoholics performed significantly poorer than controls on NP tests. Male alcoholics had significantly altered ERP responses (N1, NdA, and P3 amplitudes) but female alcoholics did not differ on any ERP variables from controls. A number of significant correlations between ERP and NP measures were present. The most consistent findings were positive correlations between perceptual-motor (PM) tests and the P3 amplitude at Pz in both male and female alcoholics and in male alcoholics, a negative correlation between PM tests and P3 latency at Pz, findings similar to those seen in Parkinson patients. Significant correlations were most numerous in family history positive alcoholics. The results lead to two conclusions: first, Grant's postulation that sober alcoholics may manifest an intermediate duration organic mental disorder is supported; second, given the lack of ERP differences in the females, ERP measures should not be considered as being causally related to NP performance.     

Overt Behavior Problems and Serotonergic Function in Middle Childhood Among Male and Female Offspring of Alcoholic Fathers

A large body of literature indicates that the serotonergic system is involved in behavioral regulation, as evidenced by the inverse relationship between impulsive aggression and serotonergic function found in adult alcoholics and nonalcoholics. However, studies of this relationship among child and adolescent offspring of alcoholics (COAs) have not previously been done. This study examines the potentially parallel relationship between behavioral dysregulation and low serotonergic function in young COAs. The relationship is of potential interest as a phenotypic marker of biological vulnerability to aggressiveness, which itself has been hypothesized to be a risk factor for later antisocial alcoholism. The present work is part of an ongoing prospective study of the development of risk for alcohol abuse/dependence and other problematic outcomes in a sample of families subtyped by the fathers' alcoholism classification. We examined the relationship between overt behavior problems in middle childhood (mean age = 10.5 ± 1.7 years) and whole blood serotonin (5-HT) in a subsample of the offspring ( N = 32 boys and 12 girls). Using a Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) index of behavioral under-control, we obtained results indicating that high total behavior problem (TBP) children had lower levels of whole blood 5-HT than did low-TBP children ( p < 0.01). These results support the hypothesis that there is an inverse relationship between whole blood serotonin levels and behavior problems in young male and female COAs. A father's alcoholism status was not significantly related to his child's 5-HT level, i.e., the child's phenotypic expression of behavioral dysregulation was more reliably connected to serotonergic function than was paternal alcoholism.     

Event-Related Potentials in Alcoholic Men, Their High-Risk Male Relatives, and Low-Risk Male Controls

A total of 217 adult male subjects were evaluated utilizing event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited with two different auditory tasks (Counting and Choice Reaction). Ninety-eight alcoholics from high-density, multigenerational families were evaluated along with 39 first-degree nonalcoholic relatives from the same high-density families. Eighty controls, selected for low density of alcoholism in their extended families, were also studied. Using both conventional and topographic analyses, no significant differences in the amplitude of the P300 component could be found with either of the auditory tasks. No significant differences in amplitude of N250 were seen. The latency of N250 increased with increasing conditional probabilities (0.33,0.67, and 1.00), a trend that was amplified in the Counting task as compared with the Choice Reaction task. This prolongation in a task not requiring a reaction response (button press) tended to increase the latency more for alcoholics than controls or high-risk nonalcoholic subjects. Age, lifetime, and recent drinking were treated as covariates in all analyses. The absence of P300 amplitude differences between adult high- and low-risk subjects is discussed in the context of the much more reliable differences seen between high- and low-risk children from the same high- and low-density families, when evaluated with the same auditory tasks.     

Visual and Auditory Event-Related Potentials in Young Children of Alcoholics from High- and Low-Density Families

Event-related potentials (ERPs), particularly the P3 wave, have been proposed as biological markers of genetic risk for alcoholism. The present study assesses the ERPs from 102 boys and girls (7 to 15 years old) divided into three groups: two groups of sons and daughters of alcoholic fathers, with and without other first- or second-degree relatives affected, and a control group of children of nonal-coholics. Both visual and auditory discrimination tasks with three stimuli (standard, target, and infrequent nontarget) were used. P3 amplitudes did not reach significant reduction for the high-risk males and were complex for females. There were significant differences among females in P3 visual latency elicited by targets; delays in this variable were associated with multigenerational familial alcoholism. Results are discussed in light of the tasks used for eliciting the ERPs and the characteristics of the selected sample.     

Gender Differences in Lifetime Psychiatric Disorders Between Sons and Daughters of Alcoholic Mothers: A Pilot Study

Lifetime prevalence of selected psychiatric disorders was assessed in 24 independent pairs of adult siblings (brother-sister) with an alcoholic mother, using the Diagnostic interview Schedule. Adult females were as likely as adult males to have had one or more lifetime diagnosis of psychiatric disorder. Lifetime prevalence of affective disorders was the same in male and female siblings. Although not statistically significant, compared with their sister, men were 3 times more likely to have had a diagnosis of alcohol abuse/dependence, and 3.5 times more likely to have had a diagnosis of general anxiety disorder. When compared with their brother, women were 1.66 times more likely to have had a diagnosis of drug abuse/dependence, 3 times more likely to have had a diagnosis of panic disorder, and 6 times more likely to have been diagnosed with phobia; however, these differences were not significant.