Figure 1. Basal levels of plasma ACTH and cortisol in low-risk participants without (LRNAD), and with (LRAD) alcohol-dependence diagnosis, and in high-risk participants without (HRNAD) and with (HRAD) alcohol-dependence diagnosis. Bars represent the mean±the SEM of 56 values per group (4 values of each of the 14 participants in each group). : Significantly different from LRAD, HRNAD and HRAD, P<0.01; +: Significantly different from HRNAD, P<0.05; : Significantly different from LRNAD and HRNAD, P<0.01. Newman–Keuls multiple-comparison test.

Figure 2. Changes in plasma ACTH concentration with time under the four experimental conditions [(P) placebo drink only; (A) alcohol drink only; (P–S) placebo drink plus stress; (A–S) alcohol drink plus stress] in low-risk participants without (LRNAD), and with (LRAD) alcohol-dependence diagnosis, and in high-risk participants without (HRNAD) and with (HRAD) alcohol-dependence diagnosis. Arrows indicate (D) the time of ingestion of the placebo or alcohol drink and (S) the time of the initiation of the stress task, which lasted for 10 min. Each point represents the mean±SEM of 14 participants.

Figure 3. Changes in plasma cortisol concentration with time under the four experimental conditions [(P) placebo drink only; (A) alcohol drink only; (P–S) placebo drink plus stress; (A–S) alcohol drink plus stress] in low-risk participants without (LRNAD), and with (LRAD) alcohol-dependence diagnosis, and in high-risk participants without (HRNAD) and with (HRAD) alcohol-dependence diagnosis. Arrows indicate (D) the time of ingestion of the placebo or alcohol drink and (S) the time of the initiation of the stress task, which lasted for 10 min. Each point represents the mean±SEM of 14 participants.

Figure 4. Area under the curve (AUC) for the ACTH and cortisol time-concentration curves during each experimental session in low-risk participants without (LRNAD), and with (LRAD) alcohol-dependence diagnosis, and in high-risk participants without (HRNAD) and with (HRAD) alcohol-dependence diagnosis. PLACEBO: placebo drink only session; ALCOHOL: alcohol drink only session; PLACEBO–STRESS: placebo drink plus stress session; ALCOHOL–STRESS: alcohol drink plus stress session. Each bar represents the mean±SEM of the AUC of 14 participants. **: Significantly different from the AUC of the placebo, alcohol, and alcohol plus stress experimental sessions of the LRNA group of participants P<0.01. *: Significantly different from the AUC of the placebo, alcohol, and alcohol plus stress experimental sessions of the HRNA group of participants P<0.05. Bonferoni post-tests.

Figure 5. Performance by the low-risk participants without (LRNAD), and with (LRAD) alcohol-dependence diagnosis, and the high-risk participants without (HRNAD) and with (HRAD) alcohol-dependence diagnosis in the 5 mathematical tests after ingestion of a placebo (open bars) or ethanol (crossed bars) drink. (P–S) placebo drink plus stress session; (A–S) alcohol drink plus stress session. The performance is presented as the number of correct answers. Each bar represents the mean±SEM of 14 participants. The statistical evaluation indicated a significant main effect of treatment for all five mathematical tests. Test 1, P<0.001; Test 2, P<0.03; Test 3, P<0.0001; Test 4, P<0.03; and Test 5, P<0.001).

Figure 6. Self-rating of the level of anxiety at 30 min before drink (B.D.), at 1 h post-drink (Pst.D.) and at the end of the experimental session (End) by the low-risk participants without (LRNAD), and with (LRAD) alcohol-dependence diagnosis, and by the high-risk participants without (HRNAD) and with (HRAD) alcohol-dependence diagnosis during the placebo drink only (P), alcohol drink only (A), placebo drink plus stress (P–S) and alcohol drink plus stress (A–S) experimental sessions. Each bar represents the mean±SEM of 14 participants. *: Significantly different from the 30 min before drink P<0.02. +:Significantly different from 1 h post drink P<0.02. Newman–Keuls multiple-comparison test.

Description of participants.

For statistical evaluation one-way ANOVAs and the Newman–Keul's multiple comparison tests were used.

*Mean±SEM.

**A MAST score higher than 5, indicates a problem drinker.

^†Significantly different from LRNAD, HRNAD participants P<0.01.

^‡Significantly different from LRAD participants P<0.05.

^aSignificantly different from LRNAD and HRNAD participants; P<0.05.

^bSignificantly different from LRNAD participants P<0.05.

^cSignificantly different from HRAD participants; P<0.05.