Alcohol and Affect: A Psychopharmacological Study
DEMMIE MAYFIELD M.D.1, and
DAVID ALLEN 2
1 Assistant Chief, Psychiatry Service, Veterans Administration Hospital, Fulton Street and Erwin Road, Durham, N. C. 27705, and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Duke University Medical Center
2 Medical student at Duke University Medical School
To investigate the influence of alcohol upon affective state, an intoxicating dose was administered intravenously to three groups—alcoholic patients, severely depressed patients, and control subjects. Using the Clyde Mood Scale to measure each subject's affect before and after alcohol infusion, the authors found that alcohol does alter affect, primarily in a palliative rather than euphoriant way. The alcoholics derived the least benefit from alcohol intoxication in terms of affective improvement, while the depressed patients improved dramatically.
