Comparing the Effects of Light Alcohol Consumption on Human Response to Auditory and Visual Stimuli

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of various levels of alcohol consumption on human response to auditory and visual stimuli in terms of reaction time, movement time, total reaction time, and error rate. Placebo level and three low-level alcohol doses were randomly assigned to 20 male university student volunteers. 30 min. after consuming the alcohol or placebo, participants responded to either auditory or visual stimuli. Total reaction time increased significantly at the mid-low dose of alcohol (0.3 g/kg). For alcohol doses less than .5 g/kg, the change in total reaction time was confined to reaction time, i.e., the processing time between onset of stimulus and onset of movement. Effects of alcohol were significantly more pronounced in the choice-type tests. Notably, the effects of alcohol on total reaction time and error rate were significant for auditory but not visual stimuli.

Can the Use of Multiple Stop Signals Reduce the Disinhibiting Effects of Alcohol?

“…First, responses to simple auditory stimuli do not differ from responses to simple visual stimuli in these types of tasks. Studies of response activation find that RTs to auditory stimuli are similar to visual stimuli and that redundant signals show comparable improvement over single signals regardless of their modality (Cheng et al., ; Fillmore, ). Second, the tasks used in the study examined response inhibition and activation using a cued response model in which an initial stimulus (e.g., a rectangle) provided preliminary information that a specific response would be required on a given trial.…”

A Review of Alcohol‐Impaired Driving: The Role of Blood Alcohol Concentration and Complexity of the Driving Task

“…Accordingly, impairment becomes demonstrable at a lower BAC. One recent laboratory study, which examined response time to visual and auditory stimuli, measured significantly longer reaction times at ethanol doses corresponding to BACs ranging from c. 0.013% to 0.038% relative to an alcohol-free condition (27). In the same study, total response time was significantly slower for a complex reaction time task (where multiple stimuli were present) when compared with a simple reaction time task (single stimulus) during both visual and auditory testing, illustrating the importance of task complexity on impairment of this faculty.…”

“…Laboratory studies of complex reaction time following lowto-moderate doses of alcohol demonstrate an increase in both response time (14,(25)(26)(27) and the number of errors made during the task (19,28,29). The conclusion from such work is that alcohol both slows an individual's ability to respond to a situation and increases the likelihood of incorrect decision-making in the scenario.…”

Alteraciones en La Conducción Simulada De Vehículos, Impulsividad Y Atención en La Fase Ascendente Y Descendente De La Intoxicación Por Alcohol

“…No sorprende entonces que, en países como Argentina, entre el 33 y el 69% de los conductores con heridas fatales y entre el 8 y el 29% de los conductores con heridas no fatales había consumido alcohol previo al accidente (Organización Mundial de la Salud [OMS], 2007; Ministerio de Salud de la Nación, 2011). A concentraciones de alcohol en sangre (CAS) bajas o moderadas (i.e., ≤ 0.02% o ≤ 0.05%, respectivamente) se observan deterioros cognitivos, perceptuales y motores (Allen et al, 2009;Cheng, Lee, Lee & Tsai, 2010;Verster et al, 2009). Entre 0.05% y 0.08% el alcohol disminuye la atención, la percepción del riesgo asociado a las maniobras de conducción (e.g., corta distancia entre automóviles en movimiento) y el nivel de alerta, y aumenta los tiempos de reacción (Cheng et al, 2010;Fransson, Modig, Patel, Gomez & Magnusson, 2010;Hingson, Edwards, Heeren, & Rosenbloom, 2009;Leung & Starmer, 2005;Simons, et al, 2012).…”

“…A concentraciones de alcohol en sangre (CAS) bajas o moderadas (i.e., ≤ 0.02% o ≤ 0.05%, respectivamente) se observan deterioros cognitivos, perceptuales y motores (Allen et al, 2009;Cheng, Lee, Lee & Tsai, 2010;Verster et al, 2009). Entre 0.05% y 0.08% el alcohol disminuye la atención, la percepción del riesgo asociado a las maniobras de conducción (e.g., corta distancia entre automóviles en movimiento) y el nivel de alerta, y aumenta los tiempos de reacción (Cheng et al, 2010;Fransson, Modig, Patel, Gomez & Magnusson, 2010;Hingson, Edwards, Heeren, & Rosenbloom, 2009;Leung & Starmer, 2005;Simons, et al, 2012). A CAS ≥ 0.08% el deterioro es mucho más pronunciado (Veldstra et al, 2012) especialmente en la capacidad para mantener el carril (Mets et al, 2011;Simons et al, 2012;Veldstra et al, 2012).…”