To gain a more complete picture of the influence of alcohol on visual performance the authors measured contrast sensitivity for a range of spatial and temporal frequencies in individuals with moderate blood alcohol levels. Subjects consumed sufficient ethanol in fruit juice over a 20 minute period to raise BAL to approximately .08 percent. They were tested when BAL was approximately .06 percent in both the rising and falling phases. Patterns of stripes with a sinusoidal luminance profile were displayed briefly on a monitor. The subject's task was to detect the presence of these gratings. The data suggest that alcohol does produce small, but real sensory deficits and that these cannot be attributed to impairments in pursuit eye-movement control. (A)
Samenvatting