TY - JOUR
T1 - Effects of relaxation instructions on the electromyographic responses of abstinent alcoholics to drinking-related stimuli
AU - Strickler, Daniel
AU - Bigelow, George
AU - Wells, David
AU - Liebson, Ira
N1 - Funding Information:
Each of the volunteers was randomly assigned to one of two groups. During the first and third phases the two groups were both exposed to the same auditory stimuli, however the auditory stimulus material differed between groups during the intervening second phase. For both groups phase I was a baseline period permitting volunteers to become accustomed to the procedures and apparatus, during which no auditory material was presented. Differential treatment occurred during phase 2: Participants in the experimental group heard a tape recording of instructions for muscle relaxation; beginning with a rationale, a calm voice instructed participants in several relaxation techniques intended to relax the whole body, including both sensory awareness and directed instruction techniques, but not muscle tensing techniques. Participants m the control group heard a tape recording of neutral material describing the history of and life style on an island in the Chesapeake Bay (this text was taken from National Geographic magazine). During phase 3 all participants heard a tape recording of drinking-related stimuli, which presented cues and situations * Supported by USPHS research grant AA-00179 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Special thanks go to Joseph Eick for assistance in preparing the audio tapes. Send reprint requests to George Bigelow, Department of Psychiatry, Baltimore City Hospitals, Baltimore, Maryland 21224. U.S.A. 500
PY - 1977
Y1 - 1977
N2 - Viewed from a behavioral perspective alcoholism is a behavioral disorder which should be influenced by the same range of environmental and historical variables which affect other operant behaviors. Therefore, environmental stimulus circumstances should play a significant role in influencing alcoholics' disposition to drink. In particular, stimuli which have previously been associated with drinking behavior should come to exert some controlling influence over subsequent disposition to drink. Relapse to substance abuse is often believed to be precipitated by exposure to stimulus circumstances previously associated with the drug or its use. This hypothesis has received its greatest emphasis in the area of narcotics abuse (Wikler, 1965). but presumably it is relevant also to the case of alcohol abuse. Research concerning abusers' reactions to alcohol-related or drinking-related stimuli has been minimal. Ludwig et al. (1974) have presented data suggesting that alcohol-related stimuli interact with priming doses of ethanol to increase alcoholics' disposition to drink. Miller et al. (1974), however, failed to observe a significant effect of drinking-related stimuli upon alcoholics' disposition to drink. In the field of behavior therapy, relaxation and stimulus-exposure techniques (e.g. systematic desensitization) are often recommended as techniques for reducing the effect of environmental stimuli upon an individual's behavior. However, data are lacking concerning the effect of relaxation training upon alcoholics. The present study uses psychophysiological procedures to investigate three issues concerning the effect of drinking-related stimuli and relaxation instructions upon alcoholics: (1) the effect of a single session of systematic relaxation instructions upon the electromyographic tension levels of abstinent alcoholics; (2) the effect of drinking-related auditory stimuli upon the electromyographic tension levels of abstinent alcoholics; and (3) the influence of prior relaxation instructions upon the EMG responses of abstinent alcoholics exposed to drinking-related stimuli.
AB - Viewed from a behavioral perspective alcoholism is a behavioral disorder which should be influenced by the same range of environmental and historical variables which affect other operant behaviors. Therefore, environmental stimulus circumstances should play a significant role in influencing alcoholics' disposition to drink. In particular, stimuli which have previously been associated with drinking behavior should come to exert some controlling influence over subsequent disposition to drink. Relapse to substance abuse is often believed to be precipitated by exposure to stimulus circumstances previously associated with the drug or its use. This hypothesis has received its greatest emphasis in the area of narcotics abuse (Wikler, 1965). but presumably it is relevant also to the case of alcohol abuse. Research concerning abusers' reactions to alcohol-related or drinking-related stimuli has been minimal. Ludwig et al. (1974) have presented data suggesting that alcohol-related stimuli interact with priming doses of ethanol to increase alcoholics' disposition to drink. Miller et al. (1974), however, failed to observe a significant effect of drinking-related stimuli upon alcoholics' disposition to drink. In the field of behavior therapy, relaxation and stimulus-exposure techniques (e.g. systematic desensitization) are often recommended as techniques for reducing the effect of environmental stimuli upon an individual's behavior. However, data are lacking concerning the effect of relaxation training upon alcoholics. The present study uses psychophysiological procedures to investigate three issues concerning the effect of drinking-related stimuli and relaxation instructions upon alcoholics: (1) the effect of a single session of systematic relaxation instructions upon the electromyographic tension levels of abstinent alcoholics; (2) the effect of drinking-related auditory stimuli upon the electromyographic tension levels of abstinent alcoholics; and (3) the influence of prior relaxation instructions upon the EMG responses of abstinent alcoholics exposed to drinking-related stimuli.
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U2 - 10.1016/0005-7967(77)90007-9
DO - 10.1016/0005-7967(77)90007-9
M3 - Article
C2 - 341878
AN - SCOPUS:0017753833
SN - 0005-7967
VL - 15
SP - 500
EP - 502
JO - Behaviour Research and Therapy
JF - Behaviour Research and Therapy
IS - 6
ER -