Takahashi Taiki, Furukawa Aizo, Miyakawa Tomohiro, Maesato Hitoshi, Higuchi Susumu
Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2007 Apr;28(2):131-6.
Alcohol dependence has been associated with disrupted neuroendocrine systems, impulsivity in intertemporal choice (delay discounting). However, little is known regarding stability of discount rates in alcoholics. This study examined both differential stability (stability of individual differences) and absolute stability (stability of group mean) of hyperbolic discount rates for monetary gains in severe alcoholic inpatients (diagnosed with DSM-IV) over a 2-month period during abstinence.
We estimated male alcoholics' discount rates for delayed monetary rewards on the basis of their pattern of choices between smaller immediate rewards (1,100-8,000 yen) and larger, delayed rewards (2,500-8,500 yen; at delays from 1 week to 6 months), two times at 2-month time-interval during hospitalized alcohol withdrawal.
It was observed that the alcoholics' mean hyperbolic discount rates for gains had both differential and absolute stability over 2 months, although a slight non-significant decrease in the group mean of the discount rates was observed.
The results indicate that abstinent alcoholic's discount rates are stable over a relatively long-term period. The usefulness of assessing discount rates of addicts in psychoneuroendocrinology and neuroeconomics of addiction is discussed.
酒精依赖与神经内分泌系统紊乱、跨期选择中的冲动性（延迟折扣）有关。然而，对于酗酒者折扣率的稳定性知之甚少。本研究考察了重度酒精性住院患者（根据《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》第四版诊断）在戒酒2个月期间货币收益的双曲线折扣率的差异稳定性（个体差异的稳定性）和绝对稳定性（群体均值的稳定性）。
我们根据男性酗酒者在较小即时奖励（1100 - 8000日元）和较大延迟奖励（2500 - 8500日元；延迟时间从1周到6个月）之间的选择模式，在住院酒精戒断期间以2个月为时间间隔对延迟货币奖励的折扣率进行了两次估计。
观察到酗酒者收益的平均双曲线折扣率在2个月内具有差异稳定性和绝对稳定性，尽管折扣率的群体均值有轻微的非显著性下降。
结果表明，戒酒的酗酒者的折扣率在相对较长的时期内是稳定的。讨论了在成瘾的精神神经内分泌学和神经经济学中评估成瘾者折扣率的有用性。
