Acute Effects of Moderate Alcohol on Psychomotor, Set Shifting, and Working Memory Function in Older and Younger Social Drinkers

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Objective: Despite substantial attention being paid to the health benefi ts of moderate alcohol intake as a lifestyle, the acute effects of alcohol on psychomotor and working memory function in older adults are poorly understood. Method: The effects of low to moderate doses of alcohol on neurobehavioral function were investigated in 39 older (55-70 years; 15 men) and 51 younger (25-35 years; 31 men) social drinkers. Subjects received one of three randomly assigned doses (placebo, .04 g/dl, or .065 g/dl target breath alcohol concentration). After beverage consumption, they completed the Trail Making Test Parts A and B and a working memory task requiring participants to determine whether probe stimuli were novel or had been presented in a preceding set of cue stimuli. Effi ciency of working memory task performance was derived from accuracy and reaction time measures. Results: Alcohol was associated with poorer Trail Making Test Part B performance for older subjects. Working memory task results suggested an Age × Dose interaction for performance effi ciency, with older but not younger adults demonstrating alcohol-related change. Directionality of change and whether effects on accuracy or reaction time drove the change depended on the novelty of probe stimuli. Conclusions: This study replicates previous research indicating increased susceptibility of older adults to moderate alcoholinduced psychomotor and set-shifting impairment and suggests such susceptibility extends to working memory performance. Further research using additional tasks and assessing other neuropsychological domains is needed. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 75, 870-879, 2014)

The effects of acute alcohol on psychomotor, set-shifting, and working memory performance in older men and women

“…Tasks were selected based on their demonstrated sensitivity for measuring the cognitive domains of interest and/or the effects of low and moderate-dose alcohol. For example, the TMT-A and B (Gilbertson et al, 2009) and the working memory task (WMT; Boissoneault et al, 2014) used in the current study have previously revealed interactions between age and alcohol.…”

“…A portion of the participants (Ps) was included in previous reports (Boissoneault et al, 2014; Sklar, Boissoneault, Fillmore, & Nixon, 2014). Drinking patterns ranged from light to moderate alcohol consumption (i.e., ≤1 drink/day for women and ≤2 drinks/day for men, with a standard drink containing 0.6 fluid ounces of alcohol; USDA/USDHHS, 2010).…”

“…In our laboratory, low-dose alcohol (i.e., target BrAC of 40 mg/dL) effects among older adults range from beneficial to detrimental. For example, investigation of psychomotor and set-shifting abilities with the Trail Making Tests (Reitan & Wolfson, 1993) reveal poorer (Gilbertson, Ceballos, Prather, & Nixon, 2009), similar, and enhanced (Boissoneault, Sklar, Prather, & Nixon, 2014) performance after alcohol administration, relative to placebo. These inconsistencies reflect the importance of conducting additional research.…”

“…Less is known about sex differences in face recognition among older populations. Thus, sex and dose effects on working memory for faces and scenes were investigated with a task that has been previously demonstrated to recruit working memory functions among older adults (Boissoneault et al, 2014; Gazzaley et al, 2005). Due to the relatively low BrACs targeted for the current study, the epoch of observable alcohol effects constrained the time available for behavioral assessment.…”

Drinking patterns and adherence to “low-risk” guidelines among community-residing older adults

“…Attention to the complex relationships between alcohol use and age continues to grow both in fields focused on alcohol/substance use (e.g., Breslow et al, 2017; Woods et al, 2016) and on aging (e.g., McEvoy et al, 2013; Wardzala et al, 2017). Among the former, and including the work of our group (e.g., Lewis et al, 2016; Sklar et al, 2014; Boissoneault et al, 2014), empirical investigations of age and alcohol effects commonly control for participants’ average alcohol consumption by employing selection criteria (e.g., adherence to NIAAA guidelines) or covariate analyses. However, measures of frequency and quantity are rarely considered.…”