• Setiawan et al investigated whether ones level of sensitivity to alcohol and personality traits are related to dopamine responses in the brains of young, healthy social drinkers - If alcohol sensitivity and personality traits are related to dopamine responses
• The researchers argued that alcohol was an AGONIST for dopamine - Meaning that it enhanced dopamine’s release - By connecting to dopamine receptor sites and causing neurons to fire
• The researchers studied 26 young healthy social drinkers from the University of McGill
• The 26 Drinkers ranged from 18 years old to 30 years old
• The sample consisted of 8 women and 18 men - Low Ecological and Cultural Validity!
• To participate, they had to be free of any diagnosis of mental illness or drug dependence
• None of the participants had an alcoholism disorder, but 11 participants noted that their family did
• All the participants first filled out a series of questionnaires , which included questions of drug and lifetime alcohol use, as well as a tridimensional personality questionnaire.
• The researchers looked at the results of the questionnaires and categorised each participant as either at high or low risk for alcoholism on the basis of their personality traits and having low intoxication responses to alcohol, AKA high tolerance for alcohol.
• Each participant underwent two PET scans on two separate days (type of brain imaging)
• Before the scan, they took both a urine and a breathalyzer test to confirm that they were drug free - Participants were also asked not to consume any nicotine or caffeine on the day of their scan.
• Each participant was told that they MAY OR MAY NOT receive alcohol on the day of their scan
• HALF AN HOUR before their scan, they were asked to drink a mixture of orange juice and lemon-lime soda, or just one of the two except it had alcohol
• Blood samples were taken before and after the drink in 30, 60, and 90 minute intervals.
• Those who the researchers determined as HIGHER RISK from their earlier tests, found greater activity in the mesolimbic reward pathway - Or the pathway where higher dopamine levels occurred in response to alcohol consumption
• Those who the researchers determined as LOW RISK, had less activity in their mesolimbic pathways, meaning a lower dopamine response in response to alcohol consumption
• The two groups had the same lifetime exposure to alcohol
• The conditions were counterbalanced (One half of the participants in one order and the other half in another order)
• Study has GREAT internal validity - A lot of extraneous variables were controlled, and a placebo was also given to mitigate demand characteristics. The study used a repeated measures counterbalanced design to control order effects. Data triangulation was also utilised throughout.
• Ethical considerations involve the PET SCAN, as it involves injecting a radiative tracer into a patient