Fast, but error-prone, responses during acute alcohol intoxication: effects of stimulus-response mapping complexity

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Human Performance

Background:

• Alcohol consumption is known to impair cognitive functions.
• The specific stage of information processing affected by alcohol remains unclear.
• This study investigates alcohol's impact on central cognitive processing using a psychological refractory period paradigm.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the effect of alcohol on the central, cognitive stage of information processing.
• To examine how task complexity, manipulated by stimulus-response compatibility, influences alcohol's effects.
• To investigate alcohol's impact during both increasing and decreasing blood alcohol concentrations (BAC).

Main Methods:

• Thirty-four healthy male social drinkers participated.
• A psychological refractory period paradigm was used with two tasks.
• Participants received either a placebo or 0.65 g/kg alcohol dose and were tested at various stimulus onset asynchronies and BAC levels.

Main Results:

• Alcohol significantly increased errors in task 1, particularly with complex stimulus-response mappings.
• Error rates remained elevated even when blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was decreasing.
• Reaction time slowed with increasing BAC but returned to baseline levels during the descending phase.

Conclusions:

• Acute alcohol intake impairs specific central cognitive processing stages.
• Cognitive errors may persist after processing speed normalizes during alcohol metabolism.
• These findings have implications for understanding the risks associated with alcohol intoxication.