This paper reports a study of the acute and hangover effects of three doses of alcohol on cognitive evoked response potential (ERP) components during a visual task in a subgroup of subjects participating in a hangover study. 32 subjects took part in the visual recording phase of the study, for which the Mackworth Clock, a visual vigilance task, was used. An electroencephalograph (EEG) was recorded at three sites of the head. There was a linear dose-related increase in Mackworth Clock reaction time after administering an acute dose of alcohol, but no significant effects were found during the hangover session. Acute alcohol delayed the time taken to evaluate a new stimulus, as indicated by P3 latency and reaction time. The allocation of attentional resources was not impaired by the acute dose or during hangover. However, the acute effects may interact with other variables, such as drinking history and predisposition to alcohol.
Samenvatting