Psychopharmacology and Addiction Research Centre (PARC), University of Exeter, Washington Singer Building, Perry Road, Exeter, EX4 4QG, UK.
School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia.
Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2021 Jun;238(6):1671-1686. doi: 10.1007/s00213-021-05802-1. Epub 2021 Feb 26.
Rumination is a repetitive, negative, self-focused thinking style associated with various forms of psychopathology. Recent studies suggest that rumination increases craving for alcohol and predicts harmful drinking and alcohol-related problems. However, the acute effects of alcohol on rumination have not been previously studied. It is proposed that alcohol may reduce ruminative thinking through decreasing negative mood.
In the present study, we aimed to test the previously unexplored effects of acute alcohol consumption on rumination in a hazardous drinking population.
We conducted a randomised placebo-controlled laboratory study to examine the effect of low (0.4 g kg) and high doses (0.8 g kg) of alcohol on state rumination compared to placebo. Participants completed a rumination induction task prior to receiving drinks. We then measured state rumination and mood at repeated time points; 30 min, 60 min and 90 min post-drinks consumption.
We found a significant decrease in state rumination in the low-dose alcohol group compared to placebo at 30 min post-alcohol consumption, but no difference was observed between the high-dose alcohol and placebo groups. Mediation analysis provided evidence for an indirect effect of alcohol on state rumination through concurrent changes in negative mood.
These findings suggest that acute alcohol consumption can regulate negative mood and concurrently rumination, providing preliminary evidence for the role of rumination in alcohol use disorders. Rumination may be a treatment target in alcohol use disorders.
反刍是一种重复的、消极的、以自我为中心的思维方式，与各种形式的精神病理学有关。最近的研究表明，反刍会增加对酒精的渴望，并预测有害的饮酒和与酒精相关的问题。然而，酒精对反刍的急性影响尚未得到研究。据推测，酒精可能通过降低负面情绪来减少反刍思维。
在本研究中，我们旨在测试以前未研究过的急性酒精摄入对危险饮酒人群反刍的影响。
我们进行了一项随机安慰剂对照实验室研究，以比较低剂量（0.4 克/公斤）和高剂量（0.8 克/公斤）酒精与安慰剂对状态反刍的影响。参与者在接受饮料前完成反刍诱导任务。然后，我们在多次时间点（饮酒后 30 分钟、60 分钟和 90 分钟）测量状态反刍和情绪。
我们发现，与安慰剂相比，低剂量酒精组在饮酒后 30 分钟时状态反刍显著降低，但高剂量酒精组与安慰剂组之间无差异。中介分析提供了证据表明，通过同时改变负面情绪，酒精对状态反刍有间接影响。
这些发现表明，急性酒精摄入可以调节负面情绪和同时的反刍，为反刍在酒精使用障碍中的作用提供了初步证据。反刍可能是酒精使用障碍的治疗靶点。
