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The Dipsogenic Effect of Alcohol and the Loss of Control Phenomenon

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Alcohol Intoxication and Withdrawal—IIIb

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 85B))

Abstract

A counterbalanced within-subjects design was employed to assess the acute effects of alcohol ingestion on thirst and fluid intake and to relate these effects to the dehydration known to result from acute ingestion of alcohol. Fourteen male nonalcoholic social drinkers between the ages of 18 and 30 consumed 0.8 gm of alcohol/kg body weight during one experimental session and a placebo (0.05 gm/kg) of equal volume during the other. During the 90-minute drinking period and for one hour both before and afterward, urine specimens were collected. After the drinking period, blood alcohol levels and unobstrusive measures of ad lib drinking were recorded. In addition, subjects rated their degree of thirst three times during each session. Analyses of variance indicated that alcohol significantly increased both fluid intake and urine output, and decreased urine specific gravity. Moreover, thirst ratings were also significantly greater after alcohol than after placebo and fluid intake after alcohol was significantly correlated with prior measures of fluid balance, mean urine specific gravity, peak blood alcohol level and thirst. The implications of these results for the loss of control in alcoholism are discussed and a new theoretical account of the phenomenon is proposed.

This research was supported by U.S. Public Health Service Grant AA 00259–05 to Peter E. Nathan

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alcohol Behavior Research Laboratory, The Graduate School, Rutgers, New Jersey, USA

    David M. Lawson

  2. The State University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

    David M. Lawson

Authors
  1. David M. Lawson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Downstate Medical Center, State University of New York, Brooklyn, New York, USA

    Milton M. Gross

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© 1977 Plenum Press, New York

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Lawson, D.M. (1977). The Dipsogenic Effect of Alcohol and the Loss of Control Phenomenon. In: Gross, M.M. (eds) Alcohol Intoxication and Withdrawal—IIIb. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 85B. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-9038-5_35

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-9038-5_35

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4615-9040-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-9038-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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