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Introduction. This study examines recovery of attentional measures among a heterogeneous group of clients in a pre-and post-comparison using inter-hemispheric EEG training at homologous sites. A continuous performance test was used as an outcome measure. The client population was divided into three categories: (a) primarily attentional deficits, (b) primarily psychological complaints, and (c) both. Method. Neurofeedback protocols included T3-T4, Fp1-Fp2, F3-F4, C3-C4 and P3-P4. A wide range of reward frequencies was used, and these were individually selected to optimize the subjective experience of the training. Participants were 44 males and females, 7 to 62 years old, who underwent treatment for a variety of clinical complaints. Dependent variables were derived from a continuous performance test, the Test of Variables of Attention (TOVA), which was administered prior to EEG training and 20 to 25 sessions thereafter. Results. After EEG training a clear trend towards improvement on the impulsivity, inattention, and variability scales of the TOVA was evident. Participants with normal pre-training scores showed no deterioration in their performance, indicating that homologous site inter-hemispheric EEG training had no deleterious effect on attention. In addition reaction time was predominately in the normal range for this population and remained unchanged following training. Conclusion. Normalization of attentional variables was observed following training irrespective of the primary clinical complaint. These results suggest that inter-hemispheric training at homologous sites provides another 'generic' EEG biofeedback protocol option for addressing attentional deficits. Inter-hemispheric training likely serves as a general challenge to the regulation of cerebral timing, phase, and coherence relationships. Such a challenge may result in more effective regulation of cerebral networks, irrespective of whether these are involved in attentional or affective regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alcohol increases the aggression-augmenting effects of provocation. Theories of alcohol and aggression suggest that impaired cognitive processing induced by acute intoxication leads individuals to process aggression-inducing social cues differently depending on whether they are high or low in salience. We examined the effects of intoxication and aggressive cue salience within the triggered displaced aggression paradigm. An ethnically diverse sample of 74 primarily young adult participants (40 men and 34 women; M=23.28, SD=3.14 years) were recruited from the university community and surrounding area. All participants were provoked by an experimenter, randomly assigned to a 2 (alcohol condition: alcohol vs. placebo) x 2 (trigger salience: high vs. low salience) between-subjects design, and then given the opportunity to aggress against the undeserving triggering agent. As expected, intoxication combined with a salient triggering cue elicited the most displaced aggression among all conditions. These results provide the first evidence that the effect of alcohol on triggered displaced aggression is moderated by the salience of the triggering event., ((c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

A tit-for-tat matching rule (Axelrod, 1984) describes much interpersonal behavior. Yet, in daily life a retaliatory aggressive response to a trivially mild provocation often inappropriately exceeds that expected from the matching rule. The concept of triggered displaced aggression can explain these exceptions to the matching principle. Building from the Cognitive Neoassociationistic model of aggressive behavior (Berkowitz, 1989, 1990, 1993), we developed a theoretical framework of social and personality factors that moderate and mediate the disjunctively escalated retaliation that can result from triggered displaced aggression. Major explanatory factors in our analysis of such effects are as follows: (a) aspects of the Time 1 provocation and the immediate situation in which it occurred; (b) characteristics of initial provocations and personality factors of the actor that produce the ruminative thought that will temporally extend the effects of a Time 1 provocation, allowing them to interact with a delayed Time 2 minor triggering event; and (c) actions and attributes of the target of displaced aggression that augment these effects.

The authors conducted a meta-analysis of 49 studies to investigate 2 explanations of how alcohol increases aggression by decreasing sensitivity to cues that inhibit it. Both the level of anxiety and inhibition conflict moderated the difference between the aggressive behavior of sober and intoxicated participants, but neither level adequately accounted for variation in effect sizes. Additional analyses of 3 social psychological moderating variables-provocation, frustration, and self-focused attention-showed that the aggressiveness of intoxicated participants relative to sober ones increased as a function of frustration but decreased as a function of provocation and self-focused attention. The authors also examined the moderating effects of dose.

Within the context of the general superiority of meta-analytic reviews over qualitative reviews, we emphasize the fragility of meta-analytic outcomes, especially when the effects of moderator variables remain unexamined. We consider the contribution to increased theoretical understanding made by moderator analyses both of methodological and substantive variables in psychological, health, and medical research. The potential contribution of meta-analysis to understanding the process underlying established relationships and to assessment of the convergent and discriminative construct validity of previously used concepts is discussed.

This study assessed whether P300 scalp topography distinguished subjects with Alzheimer's disease (AD) from controls. Specifically, it was predicted that the AD group would show maximum P300 amplitude over frontal areas and the largest P300 reduction over parietal and left hemisphere areas. These hypotheses were tested using a standard auditory oddball paradigm to compare 26 AD subjects and 26 controls matched on age, sex, handedness, and education. P300 was measured at frontal, central, parietal, and occipital sites over left and right hemispheres and along the midline. Results revealed that the distribution of P300 was different for the two groups such that the controls manifested a maximum over parietal areas, whereas the AD subjects showed a maximum at frontal sites with the largest reductions in P300 over parietal areas. No hemispheric differences in P300 were found. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that P300 represents the activity of multiple neural generators that are differentially disrupted by the disease process.

Research indicates that biological relatives of alcoholics are more likely to develop alcoholism than individuals without alcoholic relatives. Most research on these groups had focused on individuals who were relatively young (i.e., under 30 years old). In the present study, we evaluated middle-aged and elderly nonalcoholic men and women who did and did not have alcoholic biological relatives to assess factors that might be involved in a later, rather than an earlier, onset of alcoholism. Psychological characteristics were assessed using the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire. Biological characteristics were assessed using quantitative measures of the spontaneous electroencephalogram. The psychological measures did not distinguish the groups, but biological measures did. The results indicated that nonalcoholic individuals with alcoholic relatives showed elevated beta as compared with sex- and age-matched control subjects. Factors that might have mediated these findings are discussed, as are the implications of these outcomes.

The P3(00) event-related brain potential (ERP) is used to study the development of alcoholism by comparing males who have a positive family history of alcoholism with control Ss who have no such familial history. Meta-analysis indicated that overall, smaller P3 amplitudes were obtained from males with family histories of alcoholism compared to controls. Moderator analysis indicated that paradigms using difficult visual tasks yielded the most reliable effects. Furthermore, no differences in outcomes were obtained among studies that recruited positive family history Ss exclusively from among individuals whose father had received treatment for alcoholism as compared with other studies. These findings are discussed in the context of using ERPs as an evaluative tool in the study of psychopathology.

This paper reports two studies using multivariate analysis to aid the interpretation of cross-coherence of multiple electrode sites in evoked potential responses. In the first study, the replicability of principal components and multidimensional scaling was evaluated by applying both methods to pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials recorded from 28 scalp sites in two subgroups of sex- and age-matched healthy subjects, and then comparing the results. Four dimensions replicated in the two initial multidimensional scaling solutions and appeared to reflect differences in: 1) anterior versus posterior scalp areas, 2) laterality, 3) separation of frontal and occipital sites from other scalp regions, and 4) proximal versus distal placements. The initial principal components did not match well in the two groups, but rotation to congruence improved their replicability and ultimately yielded axes similar to those of the multidimensional scaling dimensions. In the second study, Alzheimer's disease and sex- and age-matched control subjects were evaluated. The four axes identified were the same as those described above, but after the solutions were rotated to align them, the group differences appeared negligible. Examination of the components and dimensions from both studies showed some consistent departures from being merely reflectors of site location, and the apparently visual dimension appeared clearly in all four groups. Judged on the basis of initial interpretability and replicability of the solutions, the results suggest that multidimensional scaling, with appropriate transformation, may provide an effective tool for analyzing pattern-reversal visual evoked-potential topography.

Objective: Meta-analysis was used to review the research literature on self-reported sensitivity to alcohol among sons of alcoholic and among normal control subjects., Method: Computerized and manual searches identified 17 eligible independent articles; nine contained the information necessary to compute effect sizes, and additional data on two other studies were provided by authors in response to written and telephone requests., Results: Findings from 10 studies indicated that sons of alcoholics report significantly less sensitivity to alcohol than normal control subjects overall and during the ascending (i.e., 0-35 minutes after alcohol) and descending (i.e., 40-240 minutes after alcohol) limbs of the blood alcohol curve. Response to placebo did not significantly distinguish these groups in the five studies that included such assessment., Conclusions: It may be appropriate to appraise the biological sons of male alcoholics that they may experience less subjective sensitivity to alcohol than other individuals, but it is not possible to predict whether any particular individual will experience such lower sensitivity. In addition, self-report data can be influenced by many factors, and further research that assesses multiple psychological and physiological measures and uses longitudinal designs is needed to determine the relationship between specific factors and the development of alcoholism.

Principal components analysis and metric multidimensional scaling were used to assess auditory and visual event-related potential topography in healthy late-middle-aged and elderly adults (n = 20). Binaurally elicited auditory evoked potentials and full-field checkerboard pattern reversal visual event-related potentials were recorded from 28 scalp sites. The zero-lag, cross-correlations of all waveforms for 300 msec post-stimulus epochs were obtained and separate analyses of the auditory and visual data were performed. Ultimately, three of the four dimensions identified in the principal components and multidimensional scaling solutions were similar and represented electrode site differences in (1) the anterior-posterior plane; (2) laterality; and, (3) the proximal-distal relation to midline. The remaining multidimensional scaling axis appeared to reflect effects specific to the modality of stimulation. Under auditory stimulation, the temporal and central-parietal sites were distinct from other scalp regions, whereas under visual stimulation, the occipital and frontal sites were distinctive. Although the results of the principal component analyses were conceptually similar to the multidimensional scaling outcomes, there were consistent differences between them. The findings provide empirical support for the validity of these multivariate methods in topographic analysis.

Twelve patients receiving ECT consented to random assignment to either intravenous or intramuscular administration of atropine for a total of 48 ECTs. There were no statistically significant differences between routes of administration in heart rate, blood pressures, or sialorrhea, but intravenous administration eliminated one injection per treatment and the development of dry mouth and tachycardia between the intramuscular injection and ECT. The authors recommend that atropine for ECT be administered intravenously.

Unlabelled: BACKGROUND--The role of insulin in the genesis of essential hypertension remains an area of intense controversy. Most clinical evidence suggests a definite association. Several pathophysiologic mechanisms have been proposed. However, current data remain disparate and contradictory. METHODS--Meta-analysis allows data pooling of primary study findings and subsequent integration into a statistically meaningful outcome. This method was used to study the relationship in euglycemic individuals between blood pressure and fasting serum insulin level, age, body mass index, and fasting plasma glucose level., Results: -A significant correlation was demonstrated between fasting serum insulin concentration and both systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. Age and body mass index also revealed meaningful associations. The meta-analytic correlation between plasma glucose level and both systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure failed to achieve significance. CONCLUSIONS--Data from a meta-analytic review examining fasting serum insulin levels in euglycemic individuals demonstrate a significant correlation with systolic and diastolic blood pressure. This study supports the role of hyperinsulinemia in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension.

The P3 event-related potential (ERP) was elicited by auditory stimuli under two conditions: (1) 250 Hz standard, 500 Hz target; and, (2) 1000 Hz standard, 2000 Hz target. A group with normal hearing (n = 10), defined as subjects with less than a 16 dB loss at each tone frequency was compared to a group with hearing impairment (n = 8), defined as subjects with a loss of 16 dB or more at each tone frequency. The hearing impaired group showed significant P3 latency prolongations compared to those with normal hearing under the 2000 Hz, but not the 500 Hz target, even though subject age was used as a covariate. Under both conditions, hearing impaired subjects showed reduced P3 amplitudes compared to those with normal hearing. These findings are discussed in relation to the sensitivity of ERP assessment procedures in older adults.

Topographic measures of electroencephalographic (EEG) amplitude were used to compare recovered alcoholics (n = 14) with sex- and age-matched control subjects. Delta, alpha, and beta activity did not distinguish the groups, but regional differences in theta distribution did. Recovered alcoholics showed more uniform distributions of theta amplitudes in bilateral anterior and posterior regions compared with controls. Because a minimum of 5 years had elapsed since the recovered alcoholic subjects fulfilled DSM-III-R criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence, it is unlikely these EEG theta differences reflect the effects of withdrawal.

Auditory oddball paradigms (20% targets) were used to elicit components of the event-related brain potential in healthy, late middle-aged and elderly adults (N = 32) in two separate sessions approximately 4.5 months apart. Within each session data were acquired under two conditions: (a) 250 Hz standard, 500 Hz target; and, (b) 1000 Hz standard, 2000 Hz target. Measures of P3 latency and amplitude showed moderate to high reliability (.55 to .89) over the 4.5-month interval under both stimulus conditions using data acquired from the midline frontal (Fz), central (Cz), and parietal (Pz) sites. In the second session, latencies were prolonged in the 500 Hz target tone condition, and amplitudes tended to be reduced in the 2000 Hz target tone condition. These results suggest that P3 measures in studies of older adults are reliable over time, and the findings are discussed in conjunction with prior P3 reliability studies of younger adults.

The use of low-dose L-deprenyl, a selective MAO-B inhibitor, in Alzheimer's disease patients has been associated previously with improvements in agitation and episodic learning and memory. Behavioral, cognitive, and regional electroencephalogram (EEG) measures were obtained in a 4-week open pilot study of 14 patients with probable Alzheimer's disease by NINCDS criteria who were administered 10 mg L-deprenyl per day. L-Deprenyl administration was associated with significant improvements on the agitation and depression factors of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, and spouses' blind ratings. Recall improved on the Buschke Selective Reminding Task, but intrusions also tended to increase; verbal fluency decreased. Absolute EEG delta measures were selectively suppressed in the right frontal region. The pattern of changes suggests that L-deprenyl may be associated with improvement in behavioral and cognitive performance, in part through a mild behavioral disinhibiting effect.

Reliabilities of quantitative measures of absolute and relative EEG amplitudes were assessed in healthy older adults under the eyes closed (n = 46) and eyes opened (n = 45) conditions. For the theta, alpha, beta 1, and beta 2 bands, reliabilities of 28 scalp derivations were stable over the 4.5 month test interval. Reliabilities of delta were lower. When appropriate transformations were applied, the reliabilities of absolute EEG amplitude measures tended to exceed those of relative measures. There were not, however, striking differences in reliabilities under the eyes closed, as compared to eyes opened condition. We concluded that when coupled with the criterion of interpretability, the generally higher reliabilities of absolute, as opposed to relative, amplitude measures render them preferable in clinical research.

Hierarchical logistic regression was used to assess the independent and interactive effects of paternal alcoholism and physical child abuse on antisocial behavior in young adult men. Men with alcoholic fathers (N = 131) did not report or exhibit more antisocial behavior than comparison subjects (N = 70). Men with physical abuse histories, however, reported more aggressive and antisocial behaviors during a clinical interview and were rated by a clinical interviewer as more likely to act out aggression. Arrest records did not distinguish the groups. There was no evidence that paternal alcoholism and childhood victimization interacted to increase the risk of antisocial behavior.

Some previous quantitative EEG research indicates that depressed subjects show increased alpha and beta compared to controls. In this report, absolute and relative amplitude measures of topographic EEG were used to compare elderly subjects with major depression to sex and age matched control subjects. Elderly depressed subjects showed significantly higher absolute alpha amplitude than controls, but regional differences did not specifically distinguish them. Relative alpha amplitudes, and absolute and relative measures of beta, delta, and theta did not reliably distinguish depressed and control subjects. The results are discussed in the context of previous EEG research in depression and the elderly. Methodological features and the implications of these findings for state and trait dependent conceptualizations of depression are considered.

Prior qualitative literature reviews about the use of neuroleptics in dementia suggest that they are "modestly effective" in treating agitation and that no single neuroleptic is better than another. To develop a more precise concept of the clinical efficacy of neuroleptics, a metaanalytic review of the existing literature was performed. From double-blind clinical trials that compared a neuroleptic with a placebo in agitated dementia patients, P values and effect-size estimates were obtained, and were assessed by metaanalytic techniques. Results indicated that neuroleptics were significantly more effective than placebo (one-tailed P = .004) and had a small effect size (r = .18). Clinically, neuroleptic treatment changed the improvement rate in agitated dementia patients from .41 to .59 (binomial effect-size display). This indicates that 18 of 100 dementia patients benefited from neuroleptic treatment (beyond that of placebo) and is consistent with the modest efficacy described in previous qualitative reviews. In six studies comparing thioridazine with another neuroleptic, and in five studies comparing haloperidol with another neuroleptic, metaanalysis results did not show that these two medications differed significantly from the comparison medications, which is not inconsistent with the opinion that no single neuroleptic is better than another.

Research published in the past decade that used quantitative indices to evaluate the waking EEG characteristics of depressed patients is reviewed. Methodological problems that make results of different research laboratories difficult to compare include diagnostic heterogeneity of depressed groups, lack of inclusion of control subjects, and differences in the EEG techniques. Despite interpretive problems that arise from such substantial variation, consistencies nevertheless emerge. Unmedicated, actively depressed patients appear to exhibit elevated EEG alpha and beta compared to control subjects. Delta and theta distinguished depressed patients from controls in some single studies, but variation in age, specific diagnostic depression categories, and EEG acquisition and analysis techniques rendered these results less definitive. Quantitative EEG differences that may distinguish depressed subject samples from those with other psychiatric disorders are considered. Factors that limit comparability of the findings are discussed in conjunction with strategies that deserve systematic study in future research.

The interindividual distributions of EEG amplitudes were evaluated in 60 healthy subjects, aged 56-76. Skew and kurtosis were used to assess the normality of the amplitude distributions in 5 frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha and 2 beta ranges) and 28 scalp derivations while the subjects were awake and rested with their eyes closed and opened. Most of the interindividual EEG amplitude distributions were not normally distributed. Two transformations were applied to the EEG amplitudes: the square root and the natural logarithm. Evaluation of skew and kurtosis indicated that the natural logarithmic transformation was more effective than the square root in reducing the positive skew and leptokurtosis that characterized the untransformed interindividual EEG amplitude distributions. For all frequency bands except theta, the log transformation rendered the distributions approximately normal in form. Correlations between log transformed EEG amplitudes and age were not statistically significant. These findings are discussed in the context of previous research, aging, and methodological features.

Biological sons of male alcoholics constitute one group at high risk (HR) for the development of alcoholism, and were the subjects of this study. A low dose of alcohol (0.5 g/kg) was administered to HR and control subjects. On the basis of changes in the electroencephalographic (EEG) mean alpha frequency that occurred following alcohol administration, two HR subgroups were identified. Measures obtained after alcohol administration, comprising self-ratings and an observer's assessment, distinguished the HR subgroups and control subjects; measures of visuomotor performance did not. The findings are discussed in relation to two current etiological theories bearing on the development of alcoholism: a biopsychological perspective and an initial tolerance for alcohol effects.

The effects of tone stimulus frequency on the auditory P3 of normal younger (n = 16) and elderly (n = 23) subjects were assessed using latency and amplitude measures. Because presbycusis is prevalent among the elderly, it was hypothesized that P3s of elderly subjects elicited by a 2000 Hz target tone would show longer latencies and smaller amplitudes than those elicited by a 500 Hz target tone. As hypothesized, the results indicated that elderly subjects showed prolonged P3 latencies under a 2000 Hz, as compared to 500 Hz target tone condition, whereas younger subjects did not show such latency differences. The P3 amplitudes of the younger and elderly groups were not, however, affected by target tone frequency. The implications of these findings in clinical geriatric ERP research are discussed.

A meta-analytic review of flash and pattern reversal visual evoked potential research indicates that elderly demented patients have longer P100 latencies than age-matched control subjects. In the present empirical research, patients with research diagnoses of probable Alzheimer's disease were compared with sex- and age-matched control subjects using P100 latencies of visual evoked potentials (VEP) elicited by flash and pattern reversal. As compared to control subjects, Alzheimer's disease patients showed significantly longer P100 latencies of the VEP elicited by pattern reversal; the flash P100 only marginally distinguished them. These findings are discussed within the context of VEP recording practices, patient selection, sex and age matching of control subjects, and the visual system.

The P100 component of the pattern reversal visual evoked potential was used to compare men at high risk for alcoholism and control subjects before and after a low (0.5 g/kg) dose of ethanol. The high risk and control subjects did not differ in age, self-reported ethanol consumption, or estimates of ethanol metabolism rates, but changes in the occipital P100 latency differentiated them following ethanol administration. The P100 latency changes that distinguished high risk from control subjects were lateralized and provide preliminary evidence that perceptual visual stimulus processing is differentially affected in the two groups following ethanol administration.

Late-middle-aged and elderly normal volunteers with past histories of Major Depression according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (third edition-revised) criteria were compared with sex- and age-matched control subjects using topographic electroencephalographic (EEG) indices. Healthy, euthymic recovered depressed subjects showed greater alpha amplitudes than controls. Delta, theta, and beta amplitudes did not reliably distinguish the groups. Considered in the context of previous research indicating that actively depressed subjects exhibit elevated EEG alpha compared to controls, these findings raise questions concerning state and trait conceptualizations of depression and EEG alpha.

A double blind, placebo controlled study was designed to assess transient caffeine effects on spontaneous and evoked brain activity in man. Twelve normal males received 200 mg caffeine citrate or placebo on separate occasions. EEG from left and right occipital regions was recorded in the absence of stimulation and during the response to sine wave modulated light (SML). The photic stimulation frequencies were 5, 10, 15, 18 and 24 c/sec. EEG power at frequencies corresponding to fundamental and selected harmonics of stimulation frequencies was obtained. The time course of response to SML was studied over a period of 2 min. Caffeine reduced the EEG power under resting conditions and during SML stimulation. This reduction was statistically significant at 10 and 15 c/sec. At 24 c/sec, caffeine reduced the fundamental SML response, but not the resting EEG power. Evaluation of the SML response time course did not reveal any consistent tendencies. It appears that the response is sustained in a stable way over the period of 2 min.

The biological sons of male alcoholics, deemed to be at high risk (HR) for the development of alcoholism, were compared to control males, aged 18 to 21, using measures of the visual evoked potential elicited by checkerboard pattern reversal. Overall, the HR and control groups were not distinguished on the basis of visual evoked potential measures acquired from the occipital scalp region; however, when comparisons were restricted to right-handed subjects, the HR subjects showed more symmetry in a positive component with approximate latency of 242 ms compared with control subjects. The results are discussed in relation to hemispheric differences and alcoholism.

Biological sons of alcoholic men constitute one group at high risk (HR) for the development of alcoholism. A low dose of alcohol (0.5 g/kg) was administered to HR and control subjects. Measures based on self-ratings, an observer's assessment and visuomotor performance were used to compare the HR and control subjects before and after alcohol administration. Results showed HR subjects' self-ratings of intoxication and somatic symptoms were significantly lower than those of control subjects after alcohol administration. Measures based on an observer's assessment of the two groups did not distinguish them, but one measure of visuomotor performance did. Because the HR and control subjects did not differ in self-reported alcohol consumption or blood alcohol levels acquired in this study, it appears unlikely these factors could account for the differential responses to alcohol administration in HR and control subjects.

Brain activity elicited by sine wave modulated light and spontaneous EEGs were obtained from 11 healthy adult males on two separate occasions. Within-subject correlations (test-retest correlation coefficients) for SML responses were high, and comparable to reliability estimates of spontaneous EEG activity in this sample. Reliability of the spontaneous EEG was evaluated using two measures: absolute and relative power. Although their magnitudes were comparable, the test-retest correlation coefficients for the right occipital were consistently higher than those of the left using absolute measures; this pattern was not reflected by test-retest correlations based on relative EEG measures. Finally, the SML responses to 5, 15, 18 and 24 Hz stimulation frequency rates correlated most highly with absolute measures of spontaneous EEG beta, whereas the SML response to 10 Hz stimulation yielded the highest correlations with spontaneous alpha activity.

Decreased platelet 3H-imipramine binding density and decreased monoamine oxidase (MAO) activity have been considered as biological characteristics of several neuropsychiatric disorders, and may be related to central serotonin defects. Since serotonin system defects occur in Alzheimer's disease (AD), and decreased brain 3H-imipramine binding density, and increased brain and platelet MAO activity are reported also, we studied platelet 3H-imipramine binding density (Bmax) and platelet MAO activity in AD outpatients without antecedent psychiatric disorder. AD subjects with significant symptomatic behavioral disorder, predominantly agitation and delusions, and AD subjects without symptomatic behaviors were compared with controls. Age, sex, mini-mental state examination score, and illness duration did not distinguish the two AD groups. The agitated/delusional group showed significantly lower Bmax values than uncomplicated AD subjects or controls. MAO activity was significantly increased among female AD subjects without symptomatic behaviors compared to those who were agitated or to controls. These results indicate that 3H-imipramine binding and MAO activity may distinguish AD subjects with agitation or delusions from those without symptomatic behaviors, and suggest the existence of a biologically based Alzheimer's behavioral subtype.

The biologic sons of alcoholics constitute a group at high risk (HR) for alcoholism. A 0.5-g/kg dose of alcohol was administered to HR and control subjects aged 19 to 21 years. Blood alcohol concentration measurements failed to distinguish HR from control subjects, but quantitative measurements of EEG alpha activity differentiated them. The HR subjects exhibited greater increases in slow alpha energy and greater decreases of fast alpha energy after alcohol administration than controls; the HR subjects also showed greater decreases in mean alpha frequency after alcohol administration. These EEG findings suggest that subjects at high risk for alcoholism are physiologically more sensitive to alcohol than control subjects.

Familial studies of alcoholism were reviewed to evaluate the role of sex of parent and offspring in alcoholism transmission. Data from 32 familial alcoholism studies were evaluated by meta-analysis. The results indicated that both male and female alcoholic patients more frequently come from homes in which their father, rather than their mother, is alcoholic, even when sex differences in alcoholism prevalence rates are taken into account. Although female offspring of alcoholic mothers show alcoholism rates that are elevated relative to those expected in the general population, male offspring of alcoholic mothers do not.