The combined effects of ethanol and amphetamine sulfate on performance of human subjects

The combined effects of ethanol and amphetamine on the performance of selected tests were evaluated. No differences were shown between the effects of ethanol-amphetamine and ethanol-lactose on the performance of balance, skipping, Minnesota manipulation, Purdue peg board, Maudsley Personality Inventory, pursuit rotor or digit span tests; but ethanol plus amphetamine produced less impairment of performance of coding, mental addition, and trail making tests than did ethanol plus a placebo. Ethanol increased the errors in performance of the Wonderlic Personnel Test, but the simultaneous administration of amphetamine did not reduce this effect. Conversely, amphetamine reduced the test-retest reliability of the Wonderlic Personnel Test, but alcohol appeared to counteract this effect of amphetamine. These experiments indicate that, when ethanol and amphetamine are used together, each drug modifies some of the effects produced by the other in a manner that cannot be predicted on the assumption that a depressant versus stimulant competition is operative.