Researchers say booze isn't necessarily a 'truth serum'

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Abe Aamidor

Indianapolis Star

Mel Gibson's recent arrest for suspected drunken driving and his reportedly belligerent, anti-Semitic behavior toward police revive an old question - do people show their true colors when they're under the influence?

Alcohol researchers and treatment experts say there is no simple answer to that question.

"You become more impulsive with the things you might say or do under the influence of alcohol," says Julia Chester, assistant professor of psychology at Purdue University.

That's because, say Chester and others, alcohol has a "disinhibitory" influence on behaviors that are controlled by the frontal lobe of the brain. The frontal lobe is above the eyes and just behind the forehead.

Men may become more aggressive, and women may become more licentious, researchers say, but what's common to both genders is that normal defenses to certain otherwise taboo behaviors come down.

Sometimes way down, especially in the case of alcoholics who might have to consume more alcohol to get the same "high" or "buzz" as social drinkers. Such true alcoholics are likely to lose more psychological checks on their behavior when they are drunk, says Dr. Sean O'Connor, a psychiatrist at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

O'Connor says he is not surprised that an admitted alcoholic who knows he will be held up to public scrutiny might get belligerent when arrested by the police.

"He (Gibson) went a little bit below a disciplined response to aggression to ward off the threat," speculated O'Connor.

"Could any of us have acted the same? Could alcohol have been a factor? I think the answer is yes, and yes."

The frontal-lobe area controls the more advanced cognitive thinking skills and behaviors, as well as personality traits that are more suited to a social setting.

It's the frontal-lobe area of the brain that makes us human, in a sense.

Compromise function in the frontal-lobe area and we become more like animals. Among other things, we may become more aggressive, because every species is born with aggressive tendencies as a basic survival mechanism.

This still doesn't explain why some people, but not others, make racist, sexist, homophobic or other bigoted remarks when intoxicated, or why some people resist arrest and others don't.

Dr. Geoffrey Fortner, a psychiatrist, says he knows many believe that's proof of character flaws in some people, but not others. Still, it's not that simple, he says.

"It's a lowering of inhibitions," Fortner says, referring to the effects of alcohol. "Then they start to act in a way they normally wouldn't or say things they normally wouldn't. But I wouldn't look at (alcohol) as some sort of truth serum."

Purdue University's Chester noted a strong correlation between alcohol consumption and domestic violence - the more drunk one is, the more likely it is that he or she will attack a spouse or partner, though it is only a question of probability. Many people who drink, even to excess, do not beat up loved ones.

Does that mean the true self underneath is just a violent lout who likes to physically or verbally abuse a spouse or partner?

The tendency toward violence may have been pre-existing, Chester acknowledges, but it is alcohol consumption that increases the likelihood of expressing that violent streak openly.

The solution? Some people shouldn't drink, and they may also need counseling or treatment for additional behavioral issues, experts seem to agree.

Gibson says he is seeking treatment for alcoholism.

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

alcohol. so everyone can stand a chance at getting laid

[vartan 0]

Hey Beer Glass, pour me anotherBy Rupert Goodwins, ZDNet (UK)

Published on ZDNet News: April 4, 2002, 11:15 AM PT

Making the most of your time in the pub could be a lot easier in future, thanks to a smart glass that watches the level of liquid and automatically alerts the bar staff when it gets dangerously low.

The device, prototyped by Mitubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, uses a transparent conductor around the sides of the glass that detects changes in capacitance caused by the lowering refreshment within.

When this reaches a preset level, a radio-frequency ID chip in the base of the glass emits a signal that is picked up by sensors in the establishment's tables. These are networked to the bar, where attentive staff immediately respond to the imminent emergency and recharge the depleted receptacle. RFID chips are currently under development by many companies and research organisations, and promise to bring this sort of intelligence to a very wide variety of everyday objects.

This is far from the only technology MERL is developing with applications for the social drinker. Projects that turn circular tables into ad-hoc shared desktop environments will enable numerous pub games, the Voice Puppet that animates any image to your voice will let you send a video conference call home "from the office" explaining why you're late, artificial intelligence video systems that determine gender will help avoid embarrassing mistakes towards the end of an evening, while the Personal Digital Historian (PDH)--a system that collates your own sound, picture and video files--will serve to remind the over-refreshed of what they actually got up to thereafter.

However, there is no sign of a good enough artificial intelligence that can talk the determined out of consuming too much, and no project underway to locate and recruit the attentive bar staff necessary to make all of the above a real proposition.

Link to Article

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However, there is no sign of a good enough artificial intelligence that can talk the determined out of consuming too much, and no project underway to locate and recruit the attentive bar staff necessary to make all of the above a real proposition.

Obviously the tech nerds developing it have never stepped inside a real bar, let alone buy a lady a drink.

Edited August 26, 2006 by Steven_and_Jinky