Heavier drinkers of both genders, in contrast, may be motivated to drink because they find alcohol less aversive and more pleasurable, perhaps particularly on the ascending limb of the BAC curve. This finding suggests a possible clarification of the Differentiator Model, in which the quality of the subjective response (i.e., stimulation versus sedation) is given more etiological prominence. As discussed previously, the alcohol-challenge paradigm cannot determine the direction of the association between heavier drinking and subjective response to alcohol. There is, however, increasing evidence that greater response to the stimulant effects of alcohol predicts future drinking, suggesting that, at the very least, it may contribute to the maintenance of heavy drinking patterns. Young adults who experience greater stimulant effects early in a drinking episode go on to drink more in that episode (Corbin et al., 2008; Ray et al., 2010; Wetherill and Fromme, 2009). Additionally, evidence from retrospective reports suggests that greater early stimulant response may predict greater consumption later in life (Chung and Martin, 2009). Further, Thomas and colleagues (2004) found greater stimulant response to alcohol challenge among alcohol
