Our primary findings of enhanced stimulation and weaker sedative effects among more impulsive drinkers pertain more closely to the differentiator model (Newlin and Thomson 1990) than to the low response model (Schuckit and Smith 2000; Schuckit and Gold 1988; Schuckit et al. 1984). These theoretical models posit particular patterns of subjective response among higher-risk drinkers (e.g., those with a family history of alcohol problems or heavy drinkers). Here, we are extrapolating higher risk to include more impulsive individuals given established relationships between impulsivity and various negative outcomes (Verdejo-Garcia et al. 2008). The differentiator model, and not the low response model, would predict the enhanced stimulant effects reported by the more impulsive participants in this study. However, our findings relate most closely to the modified differentiator model proposed by King and colleagues (King et al. 2011). In the present study, weaker sedative response among more impulsive individuals was observable during the first half of clamped IV ethanol infusion. The modified differentiator model, which states that stronger stimulant and weaker sedative response among higher-risk drinkers are observable across limbs of the blood
