Impulsive Errors on a Go-NoGo Reaction Time Task: Disinhibitory Traits in Relation to a Family History of Alcoholism

• Published in: Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research Vol. 32; no. 5; pp. 888 - 894
• Main Authors: Saunders, Buddy, Farag, Noha, Vincent, Andrea S., Collins Jr, Frank L., Sorocco, Kristen H., Lovallo, William R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.05.2008; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
• Subjects: Addictive behaviors; Adolescent; Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Alcoholism; Alcoholism - genetics; Alcoholism and acute alcohol poisoning; Behavioral Undercontrol; Biological and medical sciences; Family History of Alcoholism; Female; Humans; Impulsive Behavior - genetics; Impulsivity; Male; Males; Medical sciences; Oklahoma Family Health Patterns Project; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reaction Time - physiology; Signal Detection Theory; Signal Detection, Psychological; Toxicology; Impulsivity; Oklahoma Family Health Patterns Project; Health; Theory; Alcoholism; Behavioral Undercontrol; Family History of Alcoholism; Error; Male; Psychophysics; Males; Family story; Project; Family environment; Reaction time; Signal Detection Theory; Behavior; Antecedent; Signal detection
• ISSN: 0145-6008; 1530-0277; 1530-0277
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2008.00648.x

Background:  Behavioral undercontrol may contribute to risk for alcoholism in vulnerable persons. We predicted that healthy young adults with a family history of alcoholism (FH+) who also displayed externalizing behavior characteristics (low scores on the California Psychological Inventory Sociability Scale; CPI‐So) would exhibit more impulsive responding (false alarms) on a Go‐NoGo reaction time task. Methods:  Subjects were 230 healthy volunteers, 18 to 30 years of age with no history of alcohol or drug dependence. The task included 100 trials: 60 of “Go,” calling for a button press, and 40 of “NoGo,” or “XX,” calling for inhibiting a response. Data analysis involved a signal detection analysis of performance with subsequent group comparisons for rates of impulsive responding indicated by False Alarms (responses to NoGo signals). Results:  CPI‐So scores were lower in FH+ than in FH– (p < .000001) indicating a greater clustering of disinhibitory tendencies in these persons. FH, CPI‐So scores, and Gender together predicted false alarm rates, accounting for 4.9% of the variance, F = 3.89, p = 0.009. False alarms were associated with low CPI‐So scores, F = 5.15, p = 0.024, and being male, F = 6.27, p = 0.013, but not with FH once these variables were accounted for. Conclusions:  A disinhibited temperament may underlie a behavioral impulsivity that contributes to elevated risk for future alcoholism, especially among FH+ males.