Alcoholics have 'blunted' responses to psychological stressors such as publi...( Secretion of a stress hormone called co...),Health

Secretion of a stress hormone called cortisol and activation of the sympathetic nervous system are components of the classic "fight or flight" response to danger. A common source of cortisol release and increased cardiovascular activity is public speaking. A study in the June issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research builds upon previous work by comparing the cardiovascular responses of alcoholics and nonalcoholics to the psychological challenge of public speaking in relation to the physical challenge of standing (orthostasis).

"Since cortisol is central to our ability to handle stress," said William R. Lovallo, Director of the Behavioral Sciences Laboratories at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Oklahoma City and corresponding author for the study, "we were surprised several years ago when we found that patients with alcohol dependence had cortisol responses that were absent or greatly attenuated. It didn't matter if the patient was asked to hold a hand in ice water, squeeze a hand-exercise device until it hurt, do mental arithmetic problems, or perform in a public-speaking simulation. Due to this cortisol response deficit, we suspected that these patients might also have a reduced fight or flight response. Most persons see public speaking as socially threatening, and they respond with the primitive fight or flight mechanism."

Before testing alcoholics for their responses to a public-speaking task, researchers first needed to establish if their sympathetic nervous system was able to respond at all. "This would tell us if their blunting was specific to psychological stressors like public speaking," said Lovallo, "or due to a generalized autonomic deficit."

He and his colleagues examined 20 alcohol-dependent subjects, abstinent for 21 to 28 days, and 10 age-matched nonalcoholics. All subjects were males between the ages of 22 and 55 years. The researchers used impedance cardiography and dinamap blood pressure moni
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17-Jun-2002

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