Gender and impulsivity differences in licit substance use

The therapeutic potential of exercise and caffeine on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in athletes

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by evident and persistent inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, and social difficulties and is the most common childhood neuropsychiatric disorder, and which may persist into adulthood. Seventy to 80% of children and adults with ADHD are treated with stimulant medication, with positive response rates occurring for both populations. Medicated ADHD individuals generally show sustained and improved attention, inhibition control, cognitive flexibility, on-task behavior, and cognitive performance. The ethics of ADHD medication use in athletics has been a debated topic in sport performance for a long time. Stimulants are banned from competition in accordance with World Anti-Doping Association and National Collegiate Athletic Association regulations, due to their ability to not only enhance cognitive performance but also exercise performance. Limited research has been conducted looking at the differences in exercise performance variables in unmedicated ADHD verses medicated ADHD. Not all ADHD athletes choose stimulant medication in their treatment plan due to personal, financial, or other reasons. Non-stimulant treatment options include non-stimulant medication and behavioral therapy. However, the use of caffeinated compounds and exercise has both independently been shown to be effective in the management of ADHD symptoms in human studies and animal models. This mini review will discuss the effect of exercise and caffeine on neurobehavioral, cognitive, and neurophysiological factors, and exercise performance in ADHD athletes, and whether exercise and caffeine should be considered in the treatment plan for an individual with ADHD.

Steering clear: Traffic violations among emerging adults who engage in habitual or casual cannabis use

While some research has shown that cannabis use can impair driving ability, evidence to the degree and impact of impairment are lacking. This study examined the association between habitual or casual cannabis use and past-year traffic violations among emerging adults (EAs). Data come from the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey-Mental Health. Respondents (n = 5630) were categorized as: early (15-19 y), middle (20-24 y), and late (25-29 y) EAs. Traffic violations were measured using self-report and cannabis use was measured using the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview. The prevalence of traffic violations was higher for males (19.2 %) vs females (9.9 %) and middle (16.2 %) and late (19.4 %) EAs vs early (8.8 %) EAs. The odds of reporting traffic violations were higher for EAs who engaged in habitual [OR = 1.77 (1.17-2.67)] or casual [OR = 1.79 (1.27-2.51)] cannabis use when compared to non-users. Age moderated the association such that higher odds of traffic violations were reported in early EAs who were casual cannabis users and middle EAs who were habitual or casual cannabis users when compared to non-users. Use of other drugs was also a moderator-in the absence vs. presence of other drug use, odds of traffic violations were higher in those who engaged in either habitual or casual use of cannabis. When accounting for the moderating effects of age and drug use, habitual and casual cannabis use resulted in increased odds of a traffic violation. Future research is warranted to explore the robustness of our findings.

The Mediating Role of Impulsivity and the Moderating Role of Gender Between Fear of Missing Out and Gaming Disorder Among a Sample of Chinese University Students

The role of fear of missing out (FoMO) in addictive behaviors has recently attracted growing attention. In view of negative effects of gaming disorder (GD) among adolescents and emerging adults, research examining the relationship between FoMO and GD is needed, alongside the roles of impulsivity and gender in the relationship between FoMO and GD. This study examined whether impulsivity as a mediator and gender as a moderator impacted on the relationship between FoMO and GD among a sample of Chinese university students. A sample of 1,288 Chinese university students from three universities completed an online survey through the Wenjuanxing platform. The Chinese Trait-State Fear of Missing Out Scale, the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-Brief, and the Chinese Gaming Disorder Scale were used in this study. The model results indicated that impulsivity partially mediated the relationship between FoMO and GD, and that there was a larger effect size between impulsivity and GD among males. High levels of FoMO among individuals may impact on executive functions leading to more impulsivity, and are associated with GD. Gender may moderate the relationship between impulsivity and GD. This study deepens the understanding of the relationship between FoMO and GD, and provides new perspectives for practitioners to incorporate into health prevention programs to help regulate emotion, control impulsivity, and decrease GD.

Altitude and latitude variations in trait-impulsivity, depression, anxiety, suicidal risk, and negative alcohol-related consequences in Argentinean adolescents

The aims of this research were threefold: 1) to analyze mental health state both general (GMHS, i.e., self-perceived health and psychological distress) and specific (SMHS; i.e., depression, trait-anxiety, negative alcohol-related consequences, and suicidal risk), and impulsivity-related traits (i.e., negative urgency, positive urgency, [lack of] perseverance, [lack of] premeditation, and sensation seeking) in a sample of Argentinean adolescent college students, in function of sex (women, men) and three different altitude-latitude regions (high-north, middle-center, low-south), for identifying common and specific features; 2) to analyze relationships between impulsivity-related traits and indicators of GMHS and SMHS, in the entire sample and in each altitude-latitude region, for understanding the importance of impulsivity-related traits in these forms of mental disorders; and 3) to analyze bivariate relationships between depression, trait-anxiety, negative alcohol-related consequences, and suicidal risk, in the entire sample and considering the three altitude-latitude regions, for testing two-disorder comorbidities. Scores on impulsivity-related traits differed by sex and by altitude-latitude region. GMHS and SMHS differed by sex but not by altitude-latitude region. Several relationships were found between impulsivity-related traits, GMHS, and SMHS as well as between indicators of SMHS. Some of these relationships were dependent on altitude-latitude regions, and implications of these findings were discussed.

Revisiting the Role of Impulsivity and Compulsivity in Problematic Sexual Behaviors

Impulsivity and compulsivity are transdiagnostic features associated with clinically relevant aspects of psychiatric disorders, including addictions. However, little research has investigated how impulsivity and compulsivity relate to hypersexuality and problematic pornography use. Thus, the aims of the present study were to investigate (a) self-reported impulsivity and compulsivity with respect to hypersexuality and problematic pornography use and (b) the similarities and possible differences between hypersexuality and problematic pornography use in these domains. Utilizing structural equation modeling (SEM) in a large community sample (N = 13,778 participants; female = 4,151, 30.1%), results indicated that impulsivity (β = .28, β = .26) and compulsivity (β = .23, β = .14) were weakly related to problematic pornography use among men and women, respectively. Impulsivity had a stronger relationship (β = .41, β = .42) with hypersexuality than did compulsivity (β = .21, β = .16) among men and women, respectively. Consequently, impulsivity and compulsivity may not contribute as substantially to problematic pornography use as some scholars have proposed. On the other hand, impulsivity might have a more prominent role in hypersexuality than in problematic pornography use. Future research should examine further social and situational factors associated with problematic pornography use.

The Degree of Modulation of Beta Band Activity During Motor Planning Is Related to Trait Impulsivity

Impulsivity is a prominent personality trait, and a key modulating component of neurologic and psychiatric disorders. How impulsivity is related to the brain mechanisms associated with action planning is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the relation between impulsivity and the modulation of beta band oscillatory activity associated with action planning and execution. Given that beta power decreases during action planning and decreases further during action execution, we hypothesized that during planning the level of beta band power of more impulsive individuals would be closer to the level reached during execution than that of less impulsive individuals. This could explain the tendency to "jump the gun" (commission errors) in high impulsivity. To test this hypothesis, we recruited healthy volunteers (50 participants analyzed) and used the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale questionnaire to evaluate their impulsivity as high or low. We then recorded their brain neuromagnetic signals while they performed an instructed-delay task that induced different levels of action planning by varying the number of spatial cues, hence the uncertainty, about the location of the upcoming target. During the early cue period of the task, we found a posterior (source localized in the occipito-parietal areas) and a left fronto-central group of channels (source localized in the left sensorimotor areas) where beta power was modulated by number of cues, whereas during the late cue period only the left fronto-central group was modulated. We found that the decrease of relative beta band power during action planning in the left fronto-central group of channels was more pronounced in the high impulsivity group than in the low impulsivity group. In addition, we found that the beta band-mediated functional connectivity between the posterior and the left fronto-central groups of channels was weaker in the high impulsivity group than in the low impulsivity group during the early cue period. Furthermore, high impulsives made more commission and movement errors in the task than low impulsives. These results reveal neural mechanisms through which impulsivity affects action planning and open the way for further study of the role of beta band activity in impulsivity, especially in the context of disease and therapeutics.

Adenosine A2A Receptors in the Rat Prelimbic Medial Prefrontal Cortex Control Delay-Based Cost-Benefit Decision Making

Adenosine A_2A receptors (A_2ARs) were recently described to control synaptic plasticity and network activity in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). We now probed the role of these PFC A_2AR by evaluating the behavioral performance (locomotor activity, anxiety-related behavior, cost-benefit decision making and working memory) of rats upon downregulation of A_2AR selectively in the prelimbic medial PFC (PLmPFC) via viral small hairpin RNA targeting the A_2AR (shA_2AR). The most evident alteration observed in shA_2AR-treated rats, when compared to sh-control (shCTRL)-treated rats, was a decrease in the choice of the large reward upon an imposed delay of 15 s assessed in a T-maze-based cost-benefit decision-making paradigm, suggestive of impulsive decision making. Spontaneous locomotion in the open field was not altered, suggesting no changes in exploratory behavior. Furthermore, rats treated with shA_2AR in the PLmPFC also displayed a tendency for higher anxiety levels in the elevated plus maze (less entries in the open arms), but not in the open field test (time spent in the center was not affected). Finally, working memory performance was not significantly altered, as revealed by the spontaneous alternation in the Y-maze test and the latency to reach the platform in the repeated trial Morris water maze. These findings constitute the first direct demonstration of a role of PFC A_2AR in the control of behavior in physiological conditions, showing their major contribution for the control of delay-based cost-benefit decisions.

Demographic and Clinical Predictors of Trait Impulsivity in Parkinson's Disease Patients

Background

Impulsive behaviour has become increasingly recognised as a neuropsychiatric complication of Parkinson's disease (PD). Thought to be a product of compromised cognitive control, the spectrum of impulsive behaviours in PD ranges from cognitive disinhibition to impulse control disorders (ICDs).

Objective

At present, there are no indicators for trait impulsivity in PD. The objective of the current study was to identify demographic and clinical predictors of susceptibility to trait impulsivity in a cohort of PD patients.

Methods

The current study assessed impulsivity using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale 11 (BIS-11) in a cohort of 87 PD patients. General linear models (GLMs) were used to identify clinical and demographic variables predictive of heightened BIS-11 second-order attentional and nonplanning subscale scores.

Results

Male gender, no history of smoking, postsecondary education, and heightened disease severity were predictive of increased BIS-11 attentional scores (p < 0.05). Similarly, male gender, after secondary education, and disease severity were predictive of increased BIS-11 nonplanning scores (p < 0.05). Contrary to previous reports, dopaminergic medication use was not a significant determinant of either BIS-11 subscale scores.

Conclusions

Several demographic and clinical variables including male gender, no history of past smoking, after secondary education, and elevated disease severity are associated with impulsivity in PD.

The effect of caffeine on energy balance

The global prevalence of obesity has increased considerably in the last two decades. Obesity is caused by an imbalance between energy intake (EI) and energy expenditure (EE), and thus negative energy balance is required to bring about weight loss, which can be achieved by either decreasing EI or increasing EE. Caffeine has been found to influence the energy balance by increasing EE and decreasing EI, therefore, it can potentially be useful as a body weight regulator. Caffeine improves weight maintenance through thermogenesis, fat oxidation, and EI. The sympathetic nervous system is involved in the regulation of energy balance and lipolysis (breakdown of lipids to glycerol and free fatty acids) and the sympathetic innervation of white adipose tissue may play an important role in the regulation of total body fat. This article reviews the current knowledge on the thermogenic properties of caffeine, and its effects on appetite and EI in relation to energy balance and body weight regulation.

Gender and Alcohol Use Disorders Diagnostic Criteria in Emergency Department Patients of Argentina

BACKGROUND

Alcohol consumption and its related consequences are not equal for women and men, although related studies do not frequently include gender analysis.

OBJECTIVE

Our aim was to characterize differences in endorsement of ICD-10 and DSM 5 alcohol use disorder (AUD) criteria by gender in an Argentinean emergency department population.

METHODS

A probability sample of patients (N = 923) from the largest emergency department in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina (44% were females, aged 16 to 86, M (SD) = 37.31(15.20) was collected. Using a structured questionnaire, diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorders, alcohol consumption, and socio-demographic variables were obtained. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess differences in the endorsement of each diagnostic criterion by gender.

RESULTS

Women were less likely to endorse each of the criteria for each of the diagnostic schemes. Even after controlling alcohol consumption, socio-demographic variables, severity of alcohol use disorders and adjusting for multiple comparisons females had a lower probability than males of endorsing withdrawal and impaired control.

CONCLUSIONS

gender differences in the endorsement of diagnostic criteria for both the DSM 5 and ICD-10 were found. Some differences in endorsement but not all, might be partially explained by alcohol consumption patterns and socio-demographic factors, and same remained after controlling severity of the AUD. Results also suggest a differential functioning of DSM 5 and ICD-10 AUD criteria for women and men.

Individual Differences in Cognitive Control Circuit Anatomy Link Sensation Seeking, Impulsivity, and Substance Use

Individuals vary widely in their tendency to seek stimulation and act impulsively, early developing traits with genetic origins. Failures to regulate these behaviors increase risk for maladaptive outcomes including substance abuse. Here, we explored the neuroanatomical correlates of sensation seeking and impulsivity in healthy young adults. Our analyses revealed links between sensation seeking and reduced cortical thickness that were preferentially localized to regions implicated in cognitive control, including anterior cingulate and middle frontal gyrus (n = 1015). These associations generalized to self-reported motor impulsivity, replicated in an independent group (n = 219), and correlated with heightened alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine use. Critically, the relations between sensation seeking and brain structure were evident in participants without a history of alcohol or tobacco use, suggesting that observed associations with anatomy are not solely a consequence of substance use. These results demonstrate that individual differences in the tendency to seek stimulation, act on impulse, and engage in substance use are correlated with the anatomical structure of cognitive control circuitry. Our findings suggest that, in healthy populations, covariation across these complex multidimensional behaviors may in part originate from a common underlying biology.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT

Impaired cognitive control may result in a tendency to seek stimulation impulsively and an increased risk for maladaptive outcomes, including substance abuse. Here, we examined the structural correlates of sensation seeking and impulsivity in a large cohort of healthy young adults. Our analyses revealed links between sensation seeking and reduced cortical thickness that were preferentially localized to regions implicated in cognitive control, including anterior cingulate and middle frontal gyrus. The observed associations generalized to motor impulsivity, replicated in an independent group, and predicted heightened alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine use. These data indicate that normal variability in cognitive control system anatomy predicts sensation seeking and motor impulsivity in the healthy populations, potentially increasing risk for substance use disorders.

Risk Perception and Risk-Taking Behaviour during Adolescence: The Influence of Personality and Gender

This study investigated the influence of personality characteristics and gender on adolescents’ perception of risk and their risk-taking behaviour. Male and female participants (157 females: 116 males, aged 13–20) completed self-report measures on risk perception, risk-taking and personality. Male participants perceived behaviours as less risky, reportedly took more risks, were less sensitive to negative outcomes and less socially anxious than female participants. Path analysis identified a model in which age, behavioural inhibition and impulsiveness directly influenced risk perception, while age, social anxiety, impulsiveness, sensitivity to reward, behavioural inhibition and risk perception itself were directly or indirectly associated with risk-taking behaviour. Age and behavioural inhibition had direct relationships with social anxiety, and reward sensitivity was associated with impulsiveness. The model was representative for the whole sample and male and female groups separately. The observed relationship between age and social anxiety and the influence this may have on risk-taking behaviour could be key for reducing adolescent risk-taking behaviour. Even though adolescents may understand the riskiness of their behaviour and estimate their vulnerability to risk at a similar level to adults, factors such as anxiety regarding social situations, sensitivity to reward and impulsiveness may exert their influence and make these individuals prone to taking risks. If these associations are proven causal, these factors are, and will continue to be, important targets in prevention and intervention efforts.

Gender and Impulsivity: Effects on Cue-Induced Alcohol Craving

BACKGROUND

Numerous studies have demonstrated that trait impulsivity is linked to increased risk of developing alcohol-use disorders and other substance abuse. Impulsivity has also been shown in some studies to potentiate cue-induced drug cravings. Despite considerable evidence of gender differences in impulsivity and drug craving among individuals suffering from alcohol dependence and other drug use, little research has focused on these processes in healthy young men and women who may be at risk for developing alcohol-use disorders. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between impulsivity and cue-induced craving, as well as possible gender differences in these effects among healthy young adults.

METHODS

To that end, female (n = 22) and male (n = 14) social drinkers aged 18 to 25, recruited from an urban university campus, completed the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and reported their alcohol cravings immediately before and after laboratory exposure to alcohol cues.

RESULTS

Findings indicated that exposure to cues elicited increased alcohol cravings, but these effects did not differ by gender. Interestingly, a significant interaction of impulsivity and gender revealed that impulsivity predicted significantly higher cue-induced cravings in women, but not men.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings underscore the importance of better understanding the interaction of situational factors (e.g., exposure to alcohol cues) and dispositional factors (e.g., impulsivity) as potential contributors to drinking motivation. Future prospective research is needed to identify gender-specific risk factors for the development of problem drinking.

Subjective Responses to Caffeine Are Influenced by Caffeine Dose, Sex, and Pubertal Stage

Background: Our previous work has shown that there are sex differences in subjective responses to acute caffeine administration in adolescents. The purpose of this study was to determine if these sex differences are dependent on pubertal development. Materials and Methods: We examined subjective responses before and after administration of 0, 1, and 2 mg/kg of caffeine in pre- and postpubertal boys and girls (n = 112). In addition, we examined differences in subjective responses to acute caffeine in both the luteal and follicular phases of the menstrual cycle in postpubertal girls. Results: Caffeine at both doses resulted in greater changes in responses on the Addiction Research Center Inventory and the Brief Assessment of Mood States compared with placebo. Girls reported greater increases from baseline to peak in feeling different and liking the feeling than boys after 2 mg/kg of caffeine regardless of pubertal stage. Postpubertal girls also had a greater decrease from baseline in reports of feeling high and greater increases from baseline in reports of wanting more than postpubertal males. Finally, girls had greater changes (both increases and decreases) in responses on the Brief Mood Questionnaire when in the follicular phase compared with the luteal phase. This was also true for reports of feeling high and feeling different on the Drug Effects Questionnaire. None of these effects varied as a function of usual caffeine use, suggesting that differences are not the result of tolerance or sensitization. Conclusions: These results suggest that subjective responses to caffeine emerge before puberty, but sex differences may be strengthened after pubertal development.

Gender differences in the structure of risk for alcohol use disorder in adolescence and young adulthood

BACKGROUND

Gender differences in the prevalence of alcohol use disorder (AUD) have motivated the separate study of its risk factors and consequences in men and women. However, leveraging gender as a third variable to help account for the association between risk factors and consequences for AUD could elucidate etiological mechanisms and clinical outcomes.

METHOD

Using data from a large, community sample followed longitudinally from 17 to 29 years of age, we tested for gender differences in psychosocial risk factors and consequences in adolescence and adulthood after controlling for gender differences in the base rates of AUD and psychosocial factors. Psychosocial factors included alcohol use, other drug use, externalizing and internalizing symptoms, deviant peer affiliation, family adversity, academic problems, attitudes and use of substances by a romantic partner, and adult socio-economic status.

RESULTS

At both ages of 17 and 29 years, mean levels of psychosocial risks and consequences were higher in men and those with AUD. However, the amount of risk exposure in adolescence was more predictive of AUD in women than men. By adulthood, AUD consequences were larger in women than men and internalizing risk had a stronger relationship with AUD in women at both ages.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite higher mean levels of risk exposure in men overall, AUD appears to be a more severe disorder in women characterized by higher levels of adolescent risk factors and a greater magnitude of the AUD consequences among women than men. Furthermore, internalizing symptoms appear to be a gender-specific risk factor for AUD in women.

Coffee, caffeine, and risk of completed suicide: results from three prospective cohorts of American adults

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the association between coffee and caffeine consumption and suicide risk in three large-scale cohorts of US men and women.

METHODS

We accessed data of 43,599 men enrolled in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS, 1988-2008), 73,820 women in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS, 1992-2008), and 91,005 women in the NHS II (1993-2007). Consumption of caffeine, coffee, and decaffeinated coffee, was assessed every 4 years by validated food-frequency questionnaires. Deaths from suicide were determined by physician review of death certificates. Multivariate adjusted relative risks (RRs) were estimated with Cox proportional hazard models. Cohort specific RRs were pooled using random-effect models.

RESULTS

We documented 277 deaths from suicide. Compared to those consuming ≤ 1 cup/week of caffeinated coffee (< 8 oz/237 ml), the pooled multivariate RR (95% confidence interval [CI]) of suicide was 0.55 (0.38-0.78) for those consuming 2-3 cups/day and 0.47 (0.27-0.81) for those consuming ≥ 4 cups/day (P trend < 0.001). The pooled multivariate RR (95% CI) for suicide was 0.75 (0.63-0.90) for each increment of 2 cups/day of caffeinated coffee and 0.77 (0.63-0.93) for each increment of 300 mg/day of caffeine.

CONCLUSIONS

These results from three large cohorts support an association between caffeine consumption and lower risk of suicide.

Factors that influence the reinforcing value of foods and beverages

Behavioral economic principles state that as the cost of a product increases, purchasing or consumption of that product will decrease. To understand the impact of behavioral economics on ingestive behavior, our laboratory utilizes an operant behavior paradigm to measure how much work an individual will engage in to get access to foods and beverages. This task provides an objective measure of the reinforcing value. We have shown that consumption of the same high fat snack food every day for two weeks reduces its reinforcing value in lean individuals, but increases its reinforcing value in a subset of obese individuals. This increase in the reinforcing value of food predicts future weight gain. Similarly, we have shown that repeated intake of caffeinated soda increases its reinforcing value in boys, but not in girls. This increase in reinforcing value is not related to usual caffeine consumption, but may be associated with positive, subjective effects of caffeine that are more likely to be reported by boys than by girls. Because food and beverage reinforcement relates to real-world consumption, it is important to determine factors that increase or decrease the reinforcing value and determine the consequences of these responses. We are especially interested in determining ways to shift the behavioral economic curve in order to develop novel strategies to decrease the reinforcing value of less healthy snack foods and beverages, such as soda, potato chips and candy and to increase the reinforcing value of healthier foods and beverages, such as water, fruits, and vegetables.

Impulsivity and drinking motives predict problem behaviours relating to alcohol use in university students

AIMS

This study used a four-factor model of impulsivity to investigate inter-relationships between alcohol consumption, impulsivity, motives for drinking and the tendency to engage in alcohol-related problem behaviours.

METHODS

400 University students aged 18-25 completed an online survey consisting of the following measures: Urgency, Premeditation, Perseverance and Sensation Seeking Scale (UPPS) to measure impulsivity; Student Alcohol Questionnaire to assess drinking quantity, frequency and rates of problem behaviours; Drinking Motives Questionnaire to assess motives for drinking.

RESULTS

The majority of the sample (94.5%) drank alcohol at least monthly. Path analysis revealed direct effects of urgency, sensation seeking and premeditation, as well as the quantity of alcohol consumed, on the tendency to engage in risky behaviours with negative consequences. The effect of urgency was mediated by drinking for coping motives and by a combined effect of drinking for social motives and consumption of wine or spirits. Conversely the effect of sensation seeking was mediated by the quantity of alcohol consumed, irrespective of drink type, and the effect of premeditation was mediated by the consumption of wine and spirits, in combination with enhancement motives.

CONCLUSIONS

Sensation seeking, urgency and lack of premeditation are related to different motives for drinking and also demonstrate dissociable relationships with the consumption of specific types of alcohol (beer, wine and spirits) and the tendency to engage in risky behaviours associated with alcohol consumption. Screening for high levels of urgency and for severe drinking consequences may be useful predictors of alcohol-related problems in UK University students aged 18 to 25 years.

Testing the Conjoint Influence of Impulsivity and Drinking Restraint on Alcohol Use Consequences in College Student Drinkers

OBJECTIVES

Impulsivity and drinking restraint play a role in excessive drinking patterns and related negative consequences. Two domains of drinking restraint include preoccupation with thoughts of drinking (CEP) and attempts to control drinking (CBC), which differentially predict varying alcohol use outcomes in clinical and non-clinical samples. However, findings do not replicate across clinical, dependent samples and risky drinking young adults. This study examined the moderating role of dispositional impulsivity on the association between drinking restraint and alcohol consequences among college students to help clarify inconsistencies in the literature.

METHODS

Data were collected from a sample of college student drinkers (N = 393) on drinking behavior in the past 90 days, alcohol-related problems, dispositional impulsivity, and drinking restraint.

RESULTS

The association between CBC and alcohol consequences was significantly stronger for those higher than lower in dispositional impulsivity, after controlling for the effects of alcohol consumption. No such relationship was found for those high in trait temptation.

CONCLUSIONS

Alcohol consequences are greater among those who attempt to control their drinking and who act rashly and without consideration of future consequences; those who are high on trait temptation show no such relationship.

Pubertal status, sensation-seeking, impulsivity, and substance use in high school-aged boys and girls

OBJECTIVE

To examine how factors such as pubertal status, sensation-seeking, and impulsivity are related to substance use (cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana) in high school students and examine these associations by gender.

METHODS

Ten public high schools in Connecticut participated in a survey of high-risk behaviors. Adolescents from grades 9 to 12 (N = 3068) completed measures of physical development (Pubertal Development Scale), perceived pubertal timing, impulsivity and sensation-seeking (Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire-Form III), and cigarette, marijuana, and alcohol use in the past 30 days.

RESULTS

Logistic regression analyses modeling each substance use (cigarettes, marijuana, and alcohol) and gender separately showed that (1) early perceived pubertal timing was associated with cigarette use but Pubertal Development Scale was not associated with any substance use, (2) sensation-seeking was associated with use of all 3 substances, and (3) gender differences were detected: impulsivity was associated with use of all 3 substances among girls, but this was not found among boys.

CONCLUSION

Future studies should examine the relationship among pubertal status, sensation-seeking, and impulsivity from preadolescence through late adolescence to better understand how these relationships to substance use may change with time and growth.

Deficient fear recognition in regular cocaine users is not attributable to elevated impulsivity or conduct disorder prior to cocaine use

We previously reported that regular recreational intranasal cocaine users exhibit impaired recognition of facial expressions of fear compared to occasional cocaine users and cocaine-naïve controls. The aim of the present study was to re-investigate this phenomenon after controlling for impulsivity, conduct disorder (CD) and anti-social personality disorder (ASPD). We employed a cross-sectional design to compare 31 cocaine-naïve participants, 35 occasional cocaine users and 20 regular recreational cocaine users. An emotional facial expression (EFE) task which comprised a male and a female face expressing six basic emotions morphed to differing degrees of emotional intensity was administered together with questionnaires to assess: CD, ASPD and impulsiveness. ASPD was not a significant covariate for EFE performance but impulsiveness and CD were significant covariates. After treating impulsiveness and CD as covariates we again observed a group difference in fear recognition ability attributable to the particularly impaired performance of regular cocaine users. This suggests that, although elevated impulsiveness and CD before the age of 15 years, may predispose a relative inability to recognize facial expressions of fear in adulthood, subsequent regular recreational use of cocaine represents an additional factor that is specifically associated with a selective deficit in fear recognition.

Alcohol increases impulsivity and abuse liability in heavy drinking women

Heavy drinking has increased in recent years and has been linked to numerous health-related risks, particularly in women. A number of factors may play a role in exacerbating the risks linked to heavy drinking, such as impulsivity, which itself is related to a number of risky behaviors. The present study investigated the effects of alcohol (0, 0.5, 0.75 g/kg) on impulsivity in female heavy drinkers (n = 23) and female light drinkers (n = 23) using a double-blind, placebo-controlled outpatient design; all women were tested during follicular phase of the menstrual cycle. Each session, participants completed a range of tasks including subjective measures of abuse liability, cognitive performance tasks, three behavioral impulsivity tasks, and a risk-taking task. Alcohol increased impulsivity on the Immediate and Delayed Memory Task (IMT and DMT) and Delay Discounting task. Heavy drinkers scored higher on impulsivity self-reports and were more impulsive on the IMT and the GoStop task than light drinkers. The high dose of alcohol further increased impulsive performance on the IMT and DMT in heavy drinkers. There were no group differences or alcohol effects on the Balloon Analogue Risk Task. Alcohol increased sedative-like effects more in light drinkers and increased stimulant-like effects and alcohol liking more in heavy drinkers. In summary, female heavy drinkers are less sensitive to the negative effects of alcohol, report more positive effects of alcohol, and are more impulsive than female light drinkers. Moreover, impulsive responding was exacerbated by alcohol drinking among female heavy drinkers, indicating that women who drink at this level are at increased risk for developing alcohol use disorders and engaging in other risky behaviors, particularly after drinking.

A prospective study of the Acquired Preparedness Model: the effects of impulsivity and expectancies on smoking initiation in college students

This study reports on a prospective test of the Acquired Preparedness Model, which posits that impulsivity influences cigarette smoking through the formation of more positive and fewer negative expectancies about smoking effects. College freshman never-smokers (n = 400; 45% male) completed a baseline interview and quarterly online follow-up assessments for 15 months after baseline. Structural equation modeling indicated that the effects of the impulsivity components of sensation seeking and negative urgency on risk of smoking initiation were mediated by expectancies for positive and negative reinforcement from smoking, respectively. Expectancies about negative consequences from smoking predicted initiation but did not mediate the effects of sensation seeking or negative urgency. Findings are consistent with the Acquired Preparedness Model and suggest that heightened impulsivity is associated with heightened expectancies for reinforcement from smoking, and thus with greater risk for smoking initiation.

Sleep-Wake State Tradeoffs, Impulsivity and Life History Theory

Evolutionary ecological theory predicts that sleep-wake state tradeoffs may be related to local environmental conditions and should therefore correlate to alterations in behavioral life history strategies. It was predicted that firefighters who slept more and reported better quality sleep on average would exhibit lower impulsivity inclinations related to slower life history trajectories. UPPS impulsivity scores and self-reported sleep averages were analyzed and indicated a negative association between sleep variables and urgency and a positive association with premeditation. Perseverance, and in some cases premeditation, however, disclosed an unpredicted marginally significant positive association between increased and emergency nighttime waking-related sleep deprivation. Sensation seeking was not associated with sleep variables, but was strongly associated with number of biological children. This research contributes to understanding the implications of human sleep across ecological and behavioral contexts and implies further research is necessary for constructing evolutionarily oriented measures of impulsivity inclination and its meaning in the context of life history strategies.

Smoking cessation with teenagers: the relationship between impulsivity, emotional problems, program retention and effectiveness

AIMS

This study examines whether individual differences in impulsivity and emotional problems in adolescent smokers are related to initial smoking characteristics of participants, acceptance, retention and outcome of a school-based smoking cessation program.

DESIGN

The data was obtained from a feasibility study of a youth-specific, cognitive-behavioral and motivation enhancing program at 22 schools with 139 participating teenage smokers in Germany. A one-group-pre-posttest design was realized.

MEASUREMENT

Impulsivity levels were assessed by use of the impulsivity scale of the IVE ("Inventar zur Erfassung von Impulsivität, Risikoverhalten und Empathie", Stadler, Janke, & Schmeck, 2004). To evaluate the extent of emotional problems, the corresponding 5-items scale of the SDQ-Deu ("Strength and difficulties questionnaire", Klasen et al., 2000) was applied. Smoking behavior and acceptance of the program were assessed by students' self-reports.

FINDINGS

Acceptance and retention did not differ with regard to impulsivity and emotional problems, but initial smoking status did. Cessation rates varied with level of impulsivity: compared to non-impulsive participants, impulsive adolescents succeeded in quitting smoking less often. Emotional problems were not related to the rate of quitting.

CONCLUSIONS

Impulsive adolescents were similarly compliant to the offered cessation intervention as less impulsive smokers. In spite of their general positive evaluation, impulsive adolescents seem to benefit less from a smoking cessation program than their non-impulsive counterparts. Specific elements supporting impulsive teenage smokers in their goal to quit should be incorporated into youth-specific cessation programs.

Individual differences affecting caffeine intake. Analysis of consumption behaviours for different times of day and caffeine sources

The main purpose of the present study was to investigate the individual variables contributing to determine the high variability in the consumption behaviours of caffeine, a psychoactive substance which is still poorly investigated in comparison with other drugs. The effects of a large set of specific personality traits (i.e., Impulsivity, Sensation Seeking, Anxiety, Reward Sensitivity and Circadian Preference) were compared along with some relevant socio-demographic variables (i.e., gender and age) and cigarette smoking behaviour. Analyses revealed that daily caffeine intake was significantly higher for males, older people, participants smoking more cigarettes and showing higher scores on Impulsivity, Sensation Seeking and a facet of Reward Sensitivity. However, more detailed analyses showed that different patterns of individual variables predicted caffeine consumption when the times of day and the caffeine sources were considered. The present results suggest that such detailed analyses are required to detect the critical predictive variables that could be obscured when only total caffeine intake during the entire day is considered.

Sex differences in anterior cingulate cortex activation during impulse inhibition and behavioral correlates

Poor impulse inhibition is associated with behavioral problems including aggression and violence as well as clinical diagnoses such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and substance abuse, all of which are more prevalent in men than in women. Studies have found that fronto-parietal and fronto-striatal-thalamic networks are critical for successful impulse inhibition. However, few studies have investigated neural differences in these networks between men and women. In this study, we use a well established behavioral task, the parametric Go/noGo task, to explore the relationships between brain regional activity during impulse control and impulsivity trait measures, as well as sex differences in these relationships. We found that males showed heightened activation of the rostral anterior cingulate, which correlated with ratings related to impulsivity. We also found that the activation/deactivation in males and females correlates with personality ratings in a sex-specific manner.

Relations among delay discounting, addictions, and money mismanagement: implications and future directions

BACKGROUND

Delay discounting is a reduction in the subjective value of a delayed outcome. Elevated delay discounting is a type of impulsivity that is associated with harmful behaviors, including substance abuse and financial mismanagement.

METHODS

Elevated delay discounting as related to addiction and financial mismanagement was reviewed from psychological, neurobiological, and behavioral economic perspectives.

RESULTS

Addiction and financial mismanagement frequently co-occur, and elevated delay discounting may be a common mechanism contributing to both of these problematic behaviors.

CONCLUSIONS

Future research on the relationships between delay discounting, substance abuse, and financial mismanagement can provide important insights for developing improved prevention and treatment strategies.

Impulsivity and the Sexes

Before it is possible to test whether men and women differ in impulsivity, it is necessary to evaluate whether impulsivity measures are invariant across sex. The UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale (negative urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, and sensation seeking, with added subscale of positive urgency) is one measure of five dispositions toward rash action that has shown to have robust and clinically useful relationships among risk-taking outcomes. In the current research, the author examined (a) the psychometric measurement invariance of the UPPS-P across sex, (b) the scale’s structural invariance across sex, and (c) whether the five impulsivity traits differentially relate to risk outcomes as a function of sex. In a sample of 1,372 undergraduates, the author found evidence for measurement and invariance across sex: Thus, comparisons of men and women on the UPPS-P can be considered valid. Additionally, although males tend to report higher levels of sensation seeking and positive urgency (and possibly lack of perseverance), the relationships between the UPPS-P traits and risk outcomes were generally invariant across sex. The UPPS-P appears to function comparably across males and females, and mean differences on this scale between the sexes can be thought to reflect trait-level differences.

Zwei Seelen wohnen, ach, in meiner Brust

Zusammenfassung. Bereits die antike Philosophie hat sich mit der Frage beschäftigt, warum Menschen zuweilen wider besseres Wissen den kurzfristigen Verlockungen des Augenblicks nachgeben und damit wichtigen langfristigen Zielen zuwider handeln. In der modernen Psychologie wird das Problem der Selbstkontrolle in einer ganzen Reihe von Ansätzen aufgegriffen, darunter kybernetische Modelle, intertemporale Entscheidungsmodelle, Zielintentions-Modelle, Zielkonflikt-Modelle, und Zweisystem-Modelle. Zweisystem-Modelle scheinen sich von den übrigen Ansätzen dadurch abzuheben, dass sie impulsive Prozesse der Verhaltensdetermination explizit thematisieren und in Erklärungsmodelle menschlichen Verhaltens integrieren. Wir berichten jüngere empirische Befunde, die aus einem solchen Ansatz erwachsen sind und diskutieren die Vorteile und Grenzen einer Zweisystem-Modellierung von Selbstkontrollkonflikten aus grundlagen- und anwendungsorientierter Sicht.

Differences in "bottom-up" and "top-down" neural activity in current and former cigarette smokers: Evidence for neural substrates which may promote nicotine abstinence through increased cognitive control

Drug-related stimuli, through conditioning, are thought to acquire incentive motivational properties that code possible reward availability and elicit an attentional bias, possibly through increased "bottom-up" neural processing. The processes underlying this attentional bias are considered important in the maintenance of addiction, and crucially, in relapse among substance users attempting to remain abstinent. Equally, impaired "top-down" cognitive control may impair the ability to restrain "bottom-up" pre-potent behaviours, such as drug use, following exposure to drug-related stimuli. Two experiments sought to identify the neural loci of bottom-up/top-down processing during fMRI. Experiment 1 utilised an attentional bias paradigm to examine the behavioural and neural responses to neutral, emotionally evocative and smoking-related cues in control (n=13), ex-smoking (n=10 - abstinent >12months) and smoking (n=13 - mean >6.5years of use) groups. Experiment 2 used a go/no-go paradigm to examine the neural correlates of motor response inhibition and error monitoring in the same sample. The results of Experiment 1 demonstrated that, across conditions, current smokers had significantly less neural activity in cortical but significantly more activity in subcortical areas compared to both controls and ex-smokers. Ex-smokers exhibited more neural activity than both control and smoker groups in prefrontal cortical regions. Similarly, Experiment 2 revealed that smokers had reduced neural activity in prefrontal cortical regions during motor response inhibition compared to controls while ex-smokers demonstrated greater neural activity in prefrontal cortical regions compared to both controls and smokers during error monitoring. The results reveal cortical and subcortical differences between current smokers and controls and a general pattern of increased prefrontal cortical activity in ex-smokers. These findings may suggest that elevated topdown control might be an important characteristic of successful abstinence in individuals formerly dependent on nicotine.

Gender Differences in Subjective and Physiological Responses to Caffeine and the Role of Steroid Hormones

BACKGROUND

We have shown previously that male and female adolescents differ in their responses to caffeine, but to date, the mechanisms underlying these gender differences are unknown.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that differences in circulating steroid hormones mediate gender differences in response to caffeine.

METHODS

Subjective and physiological responses to caffeine were tested in adolescents using a double-blind, placebo controlled, crossover design. Participants were tested every 2 weeks for 8 weeks and received placebo and caffeine (2 mg/kg) twice each. Females were tested with placebo and caffeine in each phase of their menstrual cycle. Salivary concentrations of testosterone, estradiol, and progesterone were also measured.

RESULTS

Males showed greater positive subjective effects than females. In females, higher levels of estradiol were associated with little or no subjective responses to caffeine, but lower levels of estradiol were associated with negative subjective responses to caffeine relative to placebo. There were gender differences in cardiovascular responses to caffeine, with males showing greater decreases in heart rate after caffeine administration than females, but females showing greater increases in diastolic blood pressure than males after caffeine administration. These gender differences may be related to steroid hormone concentrations. Blood pressure responses to caffeine were lower in males when estradiol was high, but higher in females when estradiol was high.

CONCLUSIONS

When taken together, these findings suggest that males and females differ in their responses to caffeine and that these differences may be mediated by changes in circulating steroid hormones.

Binge drinking in undergraduates: relationships with sex, drinking behaviors, impulsivity, and the perceived effects of alcohol

Binge drinking on university campuses is associated with social and health-related problems. To determine the factors that may predict this behavior, we collected information on alcohol use, alcohol expectations, and impulsivity from 428 undergraduate students attending a Canadian university. The subjective effects of a binge drinking dose of alcohol were assessed in a subset of participants. In the larger sample, 72% of students reported drinking at or above binge drinking thresholds on a regular basis. Men reported alcohol consumption per drinking occasion, which was consistent with other studies, but the frequency of drinking occasions among women was higher than in earlier studies, suggesting that consumption in women may be increasing. Compared with men, women reported different expectations of alcohol, specifically related to sociability and sexuality. Self-reported impulsivity scores were related, albeit weakly, to drinking behaviors and to expectations in both the sexes. Finally, intoxicated binge drinkers reported feeling less intoxicated, liking the effects more, and wanting more alcohol than did non-binge drinkers receiving an equivalent dose of alcohol. These results have implications for sex-specific prevention strategies for binge drinking on university campuses.

Is moderate substance use associated with altered executive functioning in a population-based sample of young adults?

BACKGROUND

Substance use (SU) has been linked with impaired cognitive functioning. Evidence comes mainly from clinical studies or studies examining heavy users. Though, the majority of users are not involved in heavy use. This study investigates the association between moderate use and cognition in a population-based sample.

METHODS

A total of 284 young adults with ecstasy, cannabis or alcohol use and a control group were sampled from the EDSP database for participation in the Munich Assessment of Young Adults (MAYA) study. Subjects completed a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests (executive functions, working memory and impulsivity). Multiple linear regression models were conducted to examine the relationship between use and cognitive performance.

RESULTS

Increased ecstasy consumption was associated with increased error-proneness (Stroop task, CANTAB ID/ED-shift, spatial working memory). More frequent cannabis use and more extensive alcohol consumption were associated with a higher degree of impulsiveness.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on mild to moderate SU, little indication of differences in executive functioning was found. For ecstasy use, an increased error-proneness was revealed. The subtle differences in relatively young individuals warrant further investigation in prospective long-term studies to identify subjects at risk, and to examine effects of prolonged patterns of use on executive functioning.

Patterns of caffeine consumption in psychiatric patients. An Italian study

PURPOSE

The aim of the present study was to explore and compare the caffeine intake, intoxication, withdrawal and dependence prevalence in Italian psychiatric patients and healthy subjects.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Three hundred and sixty-nine out- and inpatients, suffering from different psychiatric disorders, and 104 healthy subjects were included in the study. They were assessed by the SCID and by a structured interview for caffeine intoxication and withdrawal and for substance dependence applied to caffeine use.

RESULTS

Patients and healthy subjects did not differ in terms of current caffeine intake (mg/day, mean+/-SD: 281+/-325 vs. 288+/-148, respectively), while the maximum lifetime intake of caffeine was significantly higher in the first group (mg/day, mean SD: 630+/-549 vs. 504+/-344, respectively; F=4.897, p=.03) where it was significantly related to the CGI severity item scores (rho=.107; p=.04). In both patients and healthy subjects, a lower age was related to a higher current caffeine intake, while both current and maximum lifetime caffeine intake in the healthy subjects were significantly higher in men than in women. The patients suffering from eating disorders reported higher current caffeine intake than those with anxiety or mood disorders. The prevalence of dependence and intoxication was significantly higher in the patients than in the healthy subjects, without inter-group differences. Healthy subjects showed a trend towards a higher prevalence of withdrawal.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study highlights the need that a more accurate attention should be paid to the caffeine use which seems to be strongly, although generically, related to different psychiatric disorders.

Impulsivity and cigarette craving: differences across subtypes

RATIONALE

Cigarette smoking has been linked to a number of personality characteristics, including impulsivity. Smokers tend to endorse high levels of impulsivity, and more impulsive smokers have greater difficulty quitting, but little is known about potential explanatory mechanisms. Although indirect evidence suggests craving as a candidate mechanism, direct evidence has been mixed.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study assessed whether specific aspects of impulsivity (sensation seeking, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, and urgency) were associated with cue-induced craving. Regular smokers (n = 60; 50% female) were exposed to a smoking cue and a neutral cue in a repeated measure counter-balanced design.

RESULTS

Mixed effects regression models indicated that smokers who were high in sensation seeking reported greater increases in appetitive craving after smoking cue exposure, whereas, smokers who were high in urgency and lack of perseverance reported greater increases in negative affect craving.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest a complex relationship between impulsivity and cue-induced craving that may be masked by single construct conceptualizations of impulsivity.

Heterogeneous inhibition processes involved in different facets of self-reported impulsivity: evidence from a community sample

Whiteside and Lynam (Whiteside, S. P., & Lynam, D. R. (2001). The Five Factor Model and impulsivity: Using a structural model of personality to understand impulsivity. Personality and Individual Differences, 30, 669-689) clarified the multifaceted nature of impulsivity by identifying four distinct facets of self-reported impulsive behaviors: urgency, (lack of) premeditation, (lack of) perseverance, and sensation seeking. Building on work by Bechara and Van der Linden (Bechara, A., & Van der Linden, M. (2005). Decision-making and impulse control after frontal lobe injuries. Current Opinion in Neurology, 18, 734-739), the main objective of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that perseverance and urgency map onto the two distinct inhibitory functions distinguished by Friedman and Miyake (Friedman, N. P., & Miyake, A. (2004). The relations among inhibition and interference control functions: A latent-variable analysis. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 133, 101-135): prepotent response inhibition and resistance to proactive interference. Participants (N=126) completed the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale and three tasks: a recent-negatives task to assess proactive interference in working memory, and two Go/No-Go tasks at different paces, the slower of which also assessed task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs). Consistent with the hypothesis, TUTs were positively correlated with lack of perseverance, and multiple regressions revealed that urgency was specifically related to errors in prepotent response inhibition, and lack of perseverance to errors due to difficulties overcoming proactive interference.

The role of impulsive behavior in drug abuse

BACKGROUND

Impulsivity is a multifaceted construct that has recently been recognized as a factor contributing to enhanced vulnerability to drug abuse.

OBJECTIVES

In the present review, we focus on two facets of impulsivity (and tasks that measure them): (1) impulsive choice (delay discounting task) and (2) inhibitory failure (go/no-go, stop signal reaction time, and five-choice serial reaction time tasks). We also describe how performance on each of these tasks is associated with drug-related behavior during phases of drug abuse that capture the essential features of addiction (acquisition, escalation, and reinstatement of drug-seeking after drug access has terminated). Three hypotheses (H) regarding the relationship between impulsivity and drug abuse are discussed: (1) increased levels of impulsivity lead to drug abuse (H1), (2) drugs of abuse increase impulsivity (H2), and (3) impulsivity and drug abuse are associated through a common third factor (H3).

CONCLUSION

Impulsivity expressed as impulsive choice or inhibitory failure plays a role in several key transition phases of drug abuse. There is evidence to support all three nonexclusive hypotheses. Increased levels of impulsivity lead to acquisition of drug abuse (H1) and subsequent escalation or dysregulation of drug intake. Drugs of abuse may increase impulsivity (H2), which is an additional contributor to escalation/dysregulation. Abstinence, relapse, and treatment may be influenced by both H1 and H2. In addition, there is a relationship between impulsivity and other drug abuse vulnerability factors, such as sex, hormonal status, reactivity to nondrug rewards, and early environmental experiences that may impact drug intake during all phases of addiction (H3). Relating drug abuse and impulsivity in phases of addiction via these three hypotheses provides a heuristic model from which future experimental questions can be addressed.

The relationship between impulsivity and impulse control disorders in Parkinson's disease

A range of behaviors presumed to be related to dopaminergic medications have been recently recognized in Parkinson's disease (PD). We evaluated 50 consecutive cognitively intact PD patients on stable dopamine agonist and levodopa therapy and 100 healthy controls for compulsive sexual behavior, compulsive buying, or intermittent explosive disorders assessed by the Minnesota Impulsive Disorders Interview (MIDI), pathological gambling (South Oaks Gambling Screen, SOGS), impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale), compulsivity (Maudsley obsessional-compulsive inventory), and depression scores (Geriatric Depression Scale). Overall 28% PD (14/50) and 20% healthy controls (20/100) reported at least one abnormal behavior at MIDI or pathological SOGS score. PD patients had higher scores than controls for impulsivity (P = 0.006), compulsivity (P < 0.001), and depression (P < 0.001). There was no correlation between impulsivity, compulsivity, and depression scores in PD. Male gender and higher impulsivity score, but not dose and kind of dopaminergic medications, were associated in PD with increased probability of impulsive disorders at MIDI. Impulse control disorders are also common in the control population. Individual susceptibility factors, such as high impulsivity and depression, underline abnormal behaviors in PD patients treated with stable dopaminergic therapy.

Does gender moderate associations among impulsivity and health-risk behaviors?

The present study explores the relations among gender, impulsivity and three health-risk behaviors relevant to young adults (tobacco use, alcohol problems and gambling problems) in a sample of 197 college-age individuals. We sought to determine whether impulsivity is associated with health-risk behaviors in the same ways for men and women. For tobacco use and gambling problems, men were at higher risk than women, and impulsivity was not significantly associated with higher risk. Higher levels of motor impulsivity in men accounted for a significant amount of the gender difference in risk for alcohol problems. That is, impulsivity as measured by the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (version 11), mediated the association between gender and risk for alcohol problems. For impulsivity as measured by Stop Signal Reaction Time (i.e. response inhibition), gender moderated the association between impulsivity and alcohol problems. Specifically, lower levels of impulsivity were associated with greater risk for alcohol problems in both men and women, but the effect was stronger in men. We speculate that this seemingly paradoxical result might be the result of coping drinking to deal with negative affect associated with behavioral overcontrol. These findings suggest that prevention efforts might well focus on identifying individuals at high risk for alcohol problems, especially males, by assessing response inhibition.

Influence of impulsivity-reflexivity when testing dynamic spatial ability: sex and g differences

This work analyzes the possibility that the differences in the performance of men and women in dynamic spatial tasks such as the Spatial Orientation Dynamic Test-Revised (SODT-R; Santacreu & Rubio, 1998), obtained in previous works, are due to cognitive style (Reflexivity-Impulsivity) or to the speed-accuracy tradeoff (SATO) that the participants implement. If these differences are due to cognitive style, they would be independent of intelligence, whereas if they are due to SATO, they may be associated with intelligence. In this work, 1652 participants, 984 men and 668 women, ages between 18 and 55 years, were assessed. In addition to the SODT-R, the "Test de Razonamiento Analitico, Secuencial e Inductivo" (TRASI [Analytical, Sequential, and Inductive Reasoning Test]; Rubio & Santacreu, 2003) was administered as a measure of general intelligence. Impulsivity scores (Zi) of Salkind and Wright (1977) were used to analyze reflexivity-impulsivity and SATO. The results obtained indicate that (a) four performance groups can be identified: Fast-accurate, Slow-inaccurate, Impulsive, and Reflexive. The first two groups solve the task as a function of a competence variable and the last two as a function of a personality variable; (b) performance differences should be attributed to SATO; (c) SATO differs depending on sex and intelligence level.

Effect of impulsivity on craving and behavioral reactivity to smoking cues

INTRODUCTION

Nearly 25% of American adults remain regular smokers. Current smokers may be especially likely to possess characteristics that impair their ability to quit, such as impulsivity. Impulsive individuals may be overly prone to smoke because they are particularly drawn to rewarding stimuli and related cues. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that more impulsive smokers are more responsive to cigarette cues than other smokers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In a repeated measures design, 60 euthymic, adult smokers (50% female) were exposed to a smoking cue and a neutral cue in two experimental sessions. Cue reactivity was operationalized as changes in cigarette craving and preference for immediate vs delayed smoking after cue exposure.

RESULTS

Impulsivity predicted a heightened craving response to both cues but particularly the smoking cue (t [161] = 3.21, p = 0.002). Smokers with high levels of impulsivity exhibited a greater preference for immediate rewards over larger, delayed rewards in terms of both hypothetical (t [58] = 5.99, p = 0.001) and actual (z = 3.02, p = 0.003) rewards.

CONCLUSION

These data suggest that increased reactivity to environmental smoking cues contributes to the link between impulsivity and smoking.

Impulsivity and expectancy in risk for alcohol use: comparing male and female college students in Taiwan

This was a longitudinal study designed to examine whether gender differences would exist in acquired preparedness model (APM) for explaining the risk of alcohol use in Chinese college students. Impulsivity was assessed for 3,584 students in 2002. In 2003, 1,377 students were traced and assessed in alcohol outcome expectancy, drinking behavior, and alcohol related problems, with 1,122 valid data (male=438). Separated by gender, the data was analyzed with the Structural Equation Model. Results showed that positive, not negative, outcome expectancy for alcohol mediated impulsivity's effect on alcohol use, and alcohol use had a direct effect on alcohol related problems in both males and females. In males, both negative and positive outcome expectancies failed to mediate impulsivity and alcohol related problems. In females, only positive outcome expectancy mediated the relation between impulsivity and alcohol related problems. This longitudinal data supported the acquired preparedness model for the risk in alcohol use among Chinese college students, providing a reference for designing prevention and intervention strategies guided towards both genders.