Wgk. Stritzke et al., BEYOND STRESS AND AROUSAL - A RECONCEPTUALIZATION OF ALCOHOL-EMOTION RELATIONS WITH REFERENCE TO PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL METHODS, Psychological bulletin, 120(3), 1996, pp. 376-395
In this review, the authors examine how psychophysiological research m
ight better contribute to understanding the effects of alcohol on huma
n emotion. They propose that future studies would benefit from greater
use of contemporary theories of emotion that emphasize a dimensional
structure of affective expression, incorporating the parameters of emo
tional arousal and emotional valence. Evidence suggests that, although
alcohol exerts an overall dampening effect on arousal, it appears to
modulate emotional response through its effects on higher order associ
ative processes rather than at the level of primary brain motivational
systems. They discuss methodological implications of this multidimens
ional, multilevel approach and suggest that alcohol-induced physiologi
cal changes need to be investigated as dynamic response patterns rathe
r than isolated events tied to solitary measures.