Acute and Chronic Effects of Alcohol on Trail Making Test Performance Among Underage Drinkers in a Field Setting

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objective: Alcohol's effects on executive functioning are well documented. Research in this area has provided much information on both the acute and chronic effects of alcohol on processes such as working memory and mental fl exibility. However, most research on the acute effects of alcohol is conducted with individuals older than 21 years of age. Using fi eld recruitment methods can provide unique empirical data on the acute effects of alcohol on an underage population. Method: The current study examined the independent effects of acute alcohol intoxication (measured by breath alcohol content) and chronic alcohol use (measured by years drinking) on a test of visuomotor performance and mental fl exibility (Trail Making Test) among 91 drinkers ages 18-20 years recruited from a fi eld setting. Results: Results show that breath alcohol predicts performance on Trails B, but not on Trails A, and that years drinking, above and beyond acute intoxication, predicts poorer performance on both Trails A and B. Conclusions: These data suggest that, independent of the acute effects of alcohol, chronic alcohol consumption has deleterious effects on executive functioning processes among underage drinkers. Our discussion focuses on the importance of these data in describing the effect of alcohol on adolescents and the potential for engaging in risky behavior while intoxicated. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 74, 635-641, 2013)

Effects of Emerging Alcohol and Marijuana Use Behaviors on Adolescents’ Neuropsychological Functioning Over Four Years

“…The results of the current study are consistent with the literature indicating deleterious continuous effects of substance use on neuropsychological performance (Day et al, 2013;Hannon et al, 1983). However, much evidence on the relationship between adolescent alcohol use and neuropsychological functioning has been derived largely through cross-sectional studies of matched cases (e.g., heavy drinkers) versus controls (e.g., light drinkers or nondrinkers).…”

“…This hypothesis was later expanded by Ryan and Butters (1980) to include other neuropsychological domains (e.g., attention and language abilities) to show a range of impairment among alcohol-dependent patients as a continuous function of drinking severity. Cross-sectional studies that have explored the quantitative relationship between use behaviors and cognition have found null or mixed results (Day et al, 2013;Green et al, 2010;Hannon et al, 1983;Sinha et al, 1989;Thoma et al, 2011). These unexpected findings in the literature may be influenced in part by a small sample size, the lack of statistical control for pre-drinking cognitive functioning, or no true underlying effect in the samples considered.…”

Effects of ethanol exposure during adolescence or in adulthood on Pavlovian conditioned approach in Sprague-Dawley rats

“…This dose has been found to produce initial intoxication ratings in the slight (adolescents) to moderate (adult rats) range (Broadwater & Spear, 2013) and peak blood ethanol levels (BECs) of approximately 200 mg/dL (unpublished observations). Although above the threshold for binge drinking (i.e., > 80 mg/dL), these ethanol levels are well within the range of those reported in underage drinkers and in young drinkers of legal age in recent field studies (Day, Celio, Lisman, Johansen, & Spear, 2013). Operant training began 22 days after the end of the exposure period (i.e., P70 in Exp.…”

A field investigation of the effects of drinking consequences on young adults' readiness to change

“…Participants for this study were obtained from a larger, longer-term project, the details of which are described elsewhere (Celio et al, 2014; Day, Celio, Lisman, Johansen, & Spear, 2013). From this larger project, which began with a street survey, 238 individuals were randomly selected to complete the second portion of the study (assessments within a research tent).…”