Preliminary evaluation of a human laboratory model of impaired control over alcohol using intravenous alcohol...

Impaired control over alcohol is central to alcohol use disorder, but most research on impaired control is limited to self-report methods. This study applied intravenous alcohol self-administration to conduct a preliminary investigation of a novel human laboratory model of impaired control. Heavy episodic drinkers (ages 19-22 years) completed a two-hour intravenous alcohol self-administration session that involved an incentive to maintain breath alcohol concentration below 80 mg%. Impaired control was operationalized based on whether participants exceeded (impaired control positive; IC+) or adhered to (impaired control negative; IC-) the breath alcohol concentration limit, as well as the discrepancy between intended and actual peak breath alcohol concentration. Analyses of subjective processes revealed that IC+ participants tended to underestimate their peak breath alcohol concentration relative to IC- participants. Further, IC+ reported greater craving after an initial priming phase, and craving mediated the relationship between self-report impaired control and discrepancies between intended and actual breath alcohol concentration. IC+ participants also showed stronger within-person associations between state changes in stimulation and momentary alcohol self-administration throughout the session. Laboratory impaired control indices demonstrated convergent validity with an established self-report measure of impaired control. These findings provide preliminary validation of a novel human laboratory model of impaired control in a sample of young heavy episodic drinkers, and offer insight into the role of subjective responses (craving, stimulation) in impaired control.