Factors affecting the perception of intoxication: dose, tolerance, and setting

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Individuals often rely on internal sensations and affect to gauge alcohol intoxication.
• Factors such as alcohol dose, tolerance, and environmental setting can influence this self-awareness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of internal sensations and affect in discriminating alcohol intoxication.
• To examine how dose, acquired tolerance, and setting affect the ability to recognize intoxication.

Main Methods:

• Subjects consumed placebo or one of two alcohol doses in either a distracted or non-distracted setting.
• Evaluated intoxication through self-report, correlating ratings with internal cues.

Main Results:

• An interaction between alcohol dose and setting was observed: distraction impaired intoxication evaluation.
• Distracted subjects were less accurate and more susceptible to placebo effects.
• Acquired tolerance to alcohol altered the perception of intoxication and cue discriminability.

Conclusions:

• Environmental distractions significantly hinder accurate self-assessment of alcohol intoxication.
• Acquired tolerance affects the ability to discriminate alcohol's internal effects, potentially explaining increased consumption.
• Findings suggest limitations in using blood alcohol level discrimination training for alcoholics due to altered cue perception.