[Dose-response relationships between blood alcohol concentrations and cognitive potentials (visual P300) in man]

20 healthy male subjects with a mean age of 24 +/- 2.7 years were intravenously administered a mean total dose of ethanol of 1.33 +/- 0.04 g ethanol/kg body weight using a perfusor device. The ethanol kinetic resulted in a "rising phase" of 90.2 +/- 0.9 min. in average. The PFP300 parameter in this phase of acute alcohol intoxication showed the following changes: Along with the increasing blood alcohol level the N250- and PFP300a-latencies of both the A- and B-potentials are progressively prolonged and the ascending PFP300-amplitudes are progressively reduced. The N250-latency of the B-potentials is shown to be the most sensitive parameter of the PFP300-complex already changing at a blood alcohol concentration (= b.a.c.) of 0.59 +/- 0.11% with a mean linear prolongation of 2.5 ms per 0.1 g ethanol/kg body weight. This prolongation reflects the increasing disability of the subjects to discriminate between task-relevant and task-irrelevant stimuli at b.c.a.-levels much below that being presently permitted for driving in the Federal Republic of Germany.