Abstract
During self-regulatory effort, a series of potentially energy-saving changes occur in the heart and immune system. The present study tested the possibility that one function of the liver, alcohol metabolism, also slows in the presence of self-regulatory effort. Young men (N= 19) received a small dose of alcohol and performed either self-regulatory tasks or identical tasks without a self-regulatory component, counterbalanced across two sessions. There was no main effect of condition on alcohol metabolism; however, trait self-control moderated the effect of condition such that those with higher trait self-control metabolized alcohol at similar rates across conditions, whereas those with lower trait self-control experienced a slowing of alcohol metabolism in the high self-regulation condition compared with the low self-regulation condition. This finding adds changes in liver metabolism to the " pause and plan" profile of self-regulation and suggests that trait self-control reduces the effort associated with self-regulatory tasks.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 229-231 |
Number of pages | 3 |
Journal | Biological Psychology |
Volume | 91 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 2012 |
Keywords
- Alcohol metabolism
- Liver function
- Psychophysiology
- Self-regulation
- Trait self-control
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Neuroscience (all)
- Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology