Adams S, et al. – This study's aims were to investigate the effects of acute alcohol on delay discounting and to examine the effects of drinking status on delayed discounting as well as to explore whether these effects differ according to reward type (alcohol vs. money). The findings from the present study suggested that heavier drinkers discount the value of delayed rewards more steeply than lighter drinkers. Therefore, delay discounting might be a promising marker of heavy alcohol consumption in social drinkers.

Methods

• In the study presented here, heavy and light social alcohol users (n = 96) were randomized to receive either an acute dose of alcohol at 0.4 or 0.6 g/kg or placebo in a between-subjects, double-blind design.
• Using a hyperbolic model, delay discounting of alcohol and monetary rewards was measured, with higher scores indicative of greater delay discounting.

Results

• ANOVA of discount scores demonstrated a main impact of reward type, where all members had higher discount scores for alcohol versus money rewards.
• A main impact of drinking status was also seen, where heavier drinkers had higher discount scores compared with lighter drinkers.
• They didn't notice a main impact of acute alcohol use on delay discounting or the hypothesized interactions between acute alcohol use and drinking status with reward type.