PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

E S Parker

Publications and source records attributed to E S Parker.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

Specifying the relationship between alcohol use and cognitive loss: the effects of frequency of consumption and psychological distress.

Previous research has found a relationship between increased quantity of alcohol usually consumed per drinking occasion and decreased sober cognitive performance. It has been suggested that the effects of quantity of alcohol consumed may be conditional upon the frequency of alcohol use and that decreased performance in social drinkers may be a consequence of psychological distress (i.e., anxiety and depression). An analysis of data from a representative sample of employed men and women in metropolitan Detroit indicates that the relation between quantity of alcohol consumed per occasion and abstraction performance is conditional upon the frequency of alcohol use but that the relationship cannot be accounted for by psychological distress.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Results of extended peptide T administration in AIDS and ARC patients.

We report here the extended Phase I testing of d-ala-Peptide-T-amide (Peptide T) in open trial. The drug was given intravenously in doses ranging from 0.1 to 3.2 mg/kg/day to 14 acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related complex (ARC) patients for 12 weeks. Following a 4-week off-drug period, the first 6 patients finishing the intravenous testing were continued on intranasal drug, 25 mg/day, for 8 weeks. Control subjects were tested on the same neuropsychologic tests, but did not receive drug. Minimal evidence of toxicity was found. Performance increments in cognitive and neuromotor function were observed in patients with moderate neuropsychologic impairment compared with controls. Changes in constitutional symptoms included weight gain averaging 2 kg and reported improved sense of well-being. The latter findings were independent of variation in cognitive and neuromotor function. Measures of immunologic function and antiviral activity did not change significantly during the study. These data provide a scientific rationale for Phase II testing of Peptide T in human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) patients focusing on neuropsychiatric outcome.

AIDS-Related Complex↗
PubMed1988

An atypical neurocognitive profile in alcoholic fathers and their sons.

Prepubescent boys and their recovering alcoholic fathers exhibited an Atypical Neurocognitive Profile consisting of (1) a reduction in amplitude of the late positive complex (LPC) of the event-related potential (ERP) during a complex visual discrimination task, and (2) reduced visuoperceptual performance evidenced by significantly lower scores on the Object Assembly, Block Design and Picture Completion subtests of the WISC-R and the Embedded Figures Test. Low LPC amplitudes were significantly correlated with poorer visuoperceptual performance. This Atypical Neurocognitive Profile may represent a marker for alcoholism.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Memory facilitation by post-training injection of ethanol.

Immediate post-training IP injection of ethanol (0.75--4.5 g/kg) significantly enhanced retention of a one-trial passive avoidance task in mice compared to saline controls. Ethanol (4.5 g/kg) in the absence of footshock did not affect test performance. The memory facilitation may reflect ethanol's effects on neurotransmitter, macromolecular, or hormonal systems, or a reduction in interference.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Changes in neuropsychological performance during treatment for alcoholism.

A battery of 24 neuropsychological tests was administered to drug-free alcoholic inpatients (n = 91) within 7 days of their last drink and again 17 days later. Comparisons between this group and a nonalcoholic group of medical inpatients (n = 20) also given the same test battery twice indicated very little improvement due to abstinence (short-term improvement) in the alcoholics after controlling for practice effects. Similarly, when early postwithdrawal performance of the alcoholics was compared to an alcoholic control group (n = 32), which took the test battery only once 21 days after their last drink, little evidence for short-term recovery of cognitive functions was obtained. Insofar as decisions about the initiation of therapeutic treatments which rely on cognitive processes are based on neuropsychological performance, we conclude that such treatments may commence as soon as the clinical symptoms associated with acute withdrawal have subsided.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Status inconsistency and drinking patterns among working men and women.

Previous research suggests that status inconsistents constitute a social category that is vulnerable to embarrassments and disappointments, since individuals who are of high status on one dimension and low status on another tend to respond to themselves in terms of the higher status, while other people tend to respond to them in terms of the lower one. This article extends this research to patterns of alcohol consumption and finds that status and status inconsistency are significantly associated with frequency of consumption and quantity consumed per occasion among certain groups of drinkers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Relationship between neuropsychological performance and alcohol consumption in alcoholics.

Cognitive performance in drug-free alcoholic patients (n = 95) within 7 days of their last drink was significantly predicted by chronic and recent drinking practices. Conceptually distinct cognitive functions were differentially influenced by various combinations of drinking variables. Consideration of curvilinear relationships enhanced the amount of variance explained, and it is suggested that certain patterns of consumption may accelerate the alcohol-induced decline of brain function.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Reversal of ethanol intoxication in humans: an assessment of the efficacy of L-dopa, aminophylline, and ephedrine.

The effect of postethanol treatment with L-Dopa, aminophylline and/or ephedrine was investigated. In one experiment, healthy, male, moderate drinkers ingested ethanol (0.8 g/kg) and then either L-Dopa (1.5 g), or placebo. In a second experiment, subjects ingested ethanol followed by aminophylline (200 mg), ephedrine (50 mg), aminophylline (200 mg) plus ephedrine (50 mg), or placebo. Double-blind, within-subjects, crossover designs were employed. Treatment with L-Dopa significantly reduced ethanol's effect on the electroencephalogram, motor coordination, and divided attention performance (t-test for paired data). Treatment with aminophylline and/or ephedrine also significantly reduced ethanol's effects on the electroencephalogram and motor coordination. The ethanol-antagonism may result from central noradrenergic stimulation.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Drinking practices and cognitive functioning.

The relationships between drinking practices and cognitive functioning were examined in a non-patient sample. Neither the amount of alcohol consumed over a lifetime nor current frequency of drinking occasions was significantly (ps greater than .05) correlated with cognitive test scores. However, the quantity of alcohol consumed per drinking occasion was inversely related to performance on tests of abstraction, adaptive abilities and concept formation. The results suggest that social drinking may have deleterious effects on cognitive processes.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Alcohol consumption and cognitive functioning in social drinkers.

Performance by social drinkers on tests of abstracting and adaptive abilities was negatively associated with the amount of alcohol consumed per drinking occasion. The pattern was strongest in heavy drinkers but was also evident in light and moderate drinkers.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Reversal of ethanol intoxications in humans: an assessment of the efficacy of propranolol.

The effect of post-ethanol ingestion of a single dose of propranolol on acute intoxication was studied in 13 healthy male volunteers. A within subjects, double-blind, crossover design was employed. Each subject participated in two experimental sessions. In each session, subjects took a battery of tests under three conditions: Sober, Alcohol (0.8 g/kg) and Alcohol (1.1 g/kg) + Pill, in that order. The pill contained propranolol (40 mg) in one session and placebo in the other. Ethanol significantly reduced motor coordination, memory and divided attention performance and altered mood scores. Propranolol significantly increased ethanol's effects on divided attention, inebriation ratings and the electroencephalogram without significantly altering blood alcohol concentrations. There was no indication that propranolol antagonized any of ethanol's effects. These results agree with studies indicating that ethanol's effects are increased by a reduction in the functional capacity of central catecholamine systems. It is suggested that central catecholamine-stimulating drugs may reverse some of ethanol's effects.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Alcohol's effect on some formal aspects of verbal social communication.

The effects of alcohol on formal aspects of social communication were studied by scoring transcripts of verbal discussions between dyads in alcohol and placebo sessions. At a low dose (3.83 to 1.0 ml/kg), alcohol significantly (P Less than .01) increased the amount of and overlap in communications, and tended to decrease subjects' acknowledgement of their partners' statements. At a high dose (1.5 ml/kg), the rate of overlap in speech was additionally increased, but there was a leveling off or reversal of the drug's effect on amount of communication. The subjects' blood alcohol levels were not related to the drug's effect.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Generation and elaboration in older adults.

This study examined the effects of elaborative processing in older adults using the same technique employed in an earlier study (Hashtroudi, Parker, DeLisi, & Wyatt, 1983) on acute alcohol amnesia. Older and younger adults either generated elaborators or were provided with elaborators. Elaborators were either precise or imprecise. Generation, in particular generation of precise elaborators, was effective in enhancing older subjects' level of recall and reducing age differences in memory. It is suggested that active involvement in elaborative processing enables older adults to take advantage of elaboration. Similarities and differences between memory decrements associated with aging and with alcohol intoxication are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Alcohol and affect in dyadic social interaction.

The effects of alcohol on emotional behavior during social interaction were studied in an experiment utilizing unstructured discussions between male-female couples. All subjects participated in an alcohol (1.0 ml/kg) and placebo session, and a small number took part in a third higher dose session (1.5 ml/kg). Quantitative and qualitative ratings of affect were made from the recorded interactions. Alcohol produced significant increases in the affects of elation--giddiness and happiness--and an overall increase in total emotional expression. Only some aspects of anxiety were affected by alcohol. Hostility and aggressiveness were not increased on two quantitative measures but showed a significant increase on qualitative scores in the low dose session. Although there was no consistent relationship between blood alcohol level and emotional response , drinking history significantly altered emotional response to alcohol (tolerance effects). The euphoric effects of alcohol that we found are discussed in terms of the unique aspects of the experimental situation employed. Some important variable are delineated that may influence responses to alcohol.

Adult↗