While in the scanner, subjects orally rated their subjective responses to the alcohol infusion on the “high” (operationally defined in our laboratory to the subjects as, “up-stimulated, feeling good”) and “intoxicated” (“drunk, tipsy, inebriated”) items of the Subjective High Assessment Scale (SHAS; Schuckit et al., 2000). Before starting the infusion pump, all subjects were instructed to use a uniform baseline of zero (although one subject in the placebo session gave a baseline “high” rating above zero). After the infusion pump was started, the subjects’ ratings of their perceived “high” and “intoxication” were allowed to range from their baseline of 0 to a maximum of 100 (the most “high” or “intoxicated” ever). Ratings of these subjective perceptions were obtained 8 times, comprising the baseline, once after reaching the calculated blood alcohol target just before beginning functional scanning, 5 times in between each of 6 imaging runs, and once after the final (6th) imaging run.
