Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35701548›Full record

Trial reportNeuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology2022

The neurobiological markers of acute alcohol's subjective effects in humans.

Raphael Hamel, Olivier Demers, Camille Boileau, Marie-Laurence Roy, Hugo Théoret, Pierre-Michel Bernier, Jean-Francois Lepage

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Potential TMS biomarkers for GABAAlcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2025
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Raphael Hamel *Département de kinanthropologie, Faculté des sciences de l'activité physique, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.ORCID 0000-0002-6767-3117
Olivier Demers *Département de pédiatrie, Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
Camille BoileauCentre de recherche du Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
Marie-Laurence RoyCentre de recherche du Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
Hugo ThéoretDépartement de psychologie, Faculté des arts et sciences, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Pierre-Michel BernierDépartement de kinanthropologie, Faculté des sciences de l'activité physique, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
Jean-Francois LepageDépartement de pédiatrie, Faculté de médecine et des sciences de la santé, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada. jean-francois.lepage@usherbrooke.ca.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The ingestion of alcohol yields acute biphasic subjective effects: stimulation before sedation. Despite their predictive relevance to the development of alcohol use disorders (AUD), the neurobiological markers accounting for the biphasic effects of alcohol remain poorly understood in humans. Informed by converging lines of evidence, this study tested the hypothesis that alcohol ingestion acutely increases gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-mediated inhibition, which would positively and negatively predict the feeling of stimulation and sedation, respectively. To do so, healthy participants (n = 20) ingested a single dose of 94% ABV alcohol (males: 1.0 ml/kg; females: 0.85 ml/kg) in a randomized placebo-controlled cross-over design. The alcohol's biphasic effects were assessed with the Brief-Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale, and non-invasive neurobiological markers were measured with transcranial magnetic stimulation, before and every 30 min (up to 120 min) after the complete ingestion of the beverage. Results showed that acute alcohol ingestion selectively increased the duration of the cortical silent period (CSP) as compared to placebo, suggesting that alcohol increases non-specific GABAergic inhibition. Importantly, CSP duration positively and negatively predicted increases in the feeling of stimulation and sedation, respectively, suggesting that stimulation emerges as GABAergic inhibition increases and that sedation emerges as GABAergic inhibition returns to baseline values. Overall, these results suggest that modulations of GABAergic inhibition are central to the acute biphasic subjective effects of alcohol, providing a potential preventive target to curb the progression of at-risk individuals to AUD.

Indexed as

AlcoholismAlcohol DrinkingCross-Over StudiesEthanolFemalegamma-Aminobutyric AcidHumansInhibition, PsychologicalMaleEthanolgamma-Aminobutyric Acid

Identifiers

PMID35701548
PMCPMC9556716

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.