Dose-Related Effects of Alcohol on Cognitive Functioning

Dry, Matthew J.; Burns, Nicholas R.; Nettelbeck, Ted; Farquharson, Aaron L.; White, Jason M. · 2012 · OpenAlex-citations

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0050977

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Summary

This study investigates the dose-related effects of alcohol on cognitive functioning, addressing the lack of comparative research across multiple cognitive domains within single studies. The primary objective was to determine whether any of six widely used psychometric tests could serve as a reliable, single marker for alcohol-induced impairment across varying blood alcohol concentrations (BACs). The researchers sought to compare the sensitivity of different cognitive processes to acute alcohol intoxication and to identify a test that demonstrates a consistent, dose-dependent decline suitable for broad application. The experiment employed a mixed-design protocol with 56 adult participants (aged 18–45) randomized into alcohol or control groups. Participants underwent testing at four time points: baseline and three subsequent intervals corresponding to target BACs of 0.048%, 0.082%, and 0.10%. The alcohol group consumed vodka mixed with sugar-free orange juice, while the control group consumed orange juice. The cognitive battery included the Useful Field of View test (UFOV; processing speed and divided attention), Self-Ordered Pointing Task (SOPT; working memory), Inspection Time (IT; speed of processing), Traveling Salesperson Problem (TSP; strategic optimization), Sustained Attention to Response Task (SART; vigilance and response inhibition), and Trail-Making Test (TMT; cognitive flexibility). Data were analyzed using baseline-normalized z-scores and repeated measures ANOVA to assess group differences and dose-response relationships. Results indicated that alcohol impairment is not uniform across cognitive domains. Significant main effects of alcohol were observed for UFOV, SOPT, IT, SART-commission errors, and TMT-B, but not for TSP or SART-omission errors. Crucially, the sensitivity to low-level intoxication varied significantly: only SOPT, IT, and SART-commission errors showed significant impairment at the lowest BAC of 0.048%. While SART-commission errors deteriorated sharply at this level but plateaued thereafter, SOPT and IT demonstrated a clear, linear dose-related decline as BAC increased. TSP and SART-omission errors remained largely unaffected even at higher BAC levels. The study concludes that Inspection Time (IT) is the most suitable marker for widespread application in assessing alcohol-induced cognitive impairment. IT met the criteria for a reliable marker by showing a consistent dose-related decline in a basic processing speed process, while offering practical advantages such as non-invasiveness, ease of use, and short administration time. In contrast, SOPT, though sensitive, was deemed less convenient due to longer completion times. The findings suggest that executive function is not a unitary construct, as different measures responded quantitatively differently to alcohol. The authors propose IT as a potential tool for comparing the effects of other sedative substances and for monitoring impairment in contexts such as driving.

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• alcohol