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Updated: Aug 9, 2026

The Motivation for Alcohol Reward: Predictors of Progressive-Ratio Intravenous Alcohol Self-Administration in Humans
Published on: April 28, 2022
Heart rate response to alcohol and intoxicated aggressive behavior
Jean-Marc Assaad1, Robert O Pihl, Jean R Séguin
1Department of Psychology, McGill University & Research Unit of Children's Psycho-Social Maladjustment, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Background:
This study examined the elevated heart rate (HR) response to alcohol intoxication, thought to reflect an increased sensitivity to alcohol-induced reward, as a potential factor in the increased likelihood of alcohol-induced aggression.
Methods:
Three groups, intoxicated high (n=37) and low (n=37) HR responders and sober controls (n=73), participated in a laboratory measure of physical aggression, the Taylor Aggression Paradigm.
Results:
Results revealed that intoxicated high HR responders were more aggressive than the intoxicated low HR responders and sober controls.
Conclusions:
These findings are interpreted within a hypothetical model relating increased alcohol-induced aggression to a dysregulation in the motivational system responding to rewards.
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