IV alcohol paradigm, Stangl et al. reported that those who self‐infused more rewards in the first 30 min of the lab study reported drinking more heavily in the past month and reported a greater rewarding subjective response compared with participants who infused less during the same interval. 35 Recently, the time to achieve a binge level exposure of 80 mg/dl was associated with AUD risk, 36 genetic risk, 37 and high‐risk drinking. 38 In these studies, each IV alcohol reward is identical. Thus, participants only achieved indirect control of the overall rate of BrAC change through selection of when alcohol was delivered. Further, the rate of change associated with each reward was identical and thus may have been too rapid or too slow for an individual participant for whom the rate of change influences, if not determines, reward. Recently, investigators employed ecological momentary assessment and estimated blood alcohol concentrations to examine alcohol consumption in the community. Noting the limitations of the methodology, they reported that, within drinking episodes, “faster consumption” (determined as greater rates of change in estimated blood alcohol concentration) was associated with decreased negative affect and increased positive affect. 39 Consequently, while the alcohol self‐administration literature consistently identifies
