Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

According to recent estimates, 80% of adult Canadians use alcohol on a regular basis, and 21% reported drinking above the recommended low risk guidelines (Rehm et al., 2002).Notably, young adult Canadians constitute a group of particular risk for the ill effects of alcoholism, as alcohol abuse peaks in late adolescence and the prevalence rate for binge drinking in this population is 26% (O'Connor & Stewart, 2010). Most studies have investigated alcohol misuse in terms of explicit cognitive biases towards positive and negative reinforcement, however, the in the moment decision to drink may be influenced by automatic, neurobiological processes. Nussbaum (2008) argues that there is an "approach gratification" system mediated by the sequential interactions of dopamine (DA), testosterone (T), endorphins, and facilitory GABA synapses. In opposition, there is an "avoidance" system, synergistically comprised of Serotonin (5-HT), Cortisol (C) and Nor-epinephrine (NE) that acts to inhibit the propensity to approach immediately available reward opportunities. Method: A sample of 120 university students will complete a self-report questionnaire assessing their motives for drinking. Participants will then complete two sessions of a stimuli exposure task separated by an anxiety mood induction task.Continuous electrophysiological and pre-post hormonal saliva assays will be obtained. It is hypothesized that participants who engage in frequent binge drinking for positive effects will show higher changes in eye-blink frequencies, and saliva levels of T, but smaller changes in stress measures.In contrast, participants who self-medicate will show elevated stress responses after mood induction, but larger reductions in stress reactivity measures (NE and C)during the second exposure session. Implications:If successful, the current project has several health-relevant implications, including explaining how automatic neurobiological mechanisms may contribute to high treatment relapse rates.