Grants and Contracts Details
Description
Frequent binge drinking is associated with high rates of impaired driving and myriad alcoholrelated
accidents. One potential explanation for the correlation between frequent binge drinking
and elevated alcohol-related injury risk is that frequent binge drinkers are generally more
impulsive, and subsequently more disinhibited by alcohol compared to infrequent binge drinkers.
This research proposal will explore this hypothesis and its relevance to impaired driving by
examining acute alcohol effects on inhibitory and activational mechanisms of behavioral control,
and their relation to simulated driving performance in frequent and infrequent binge drinkers. In
Experiment 1, frequent and infrequent binge drinkers will be compared on neurocognitive
measures and simulated driving under alcohol and placebo. It is hypothesized that frequent
binge drinkers will be more disinhibited by alcohol compared to infrequent binge drinkers. The
degree to which the acute impairing effects of alcohol on basic neurocognitive mechanisms
contribute to impaired simulated driving also will be examined. Experiment 2 addresses the role
of acute tolerance (recovery) as a contributor to alcohol-related injuries. Recent evidence has
indicated that acute recovery to the subjective intoxicating effects of alcohol is greater in frequent
binge drinkers compared to their lighter drinking counterparts. However, other evidence indicates
that acute recovery does not occur for alcohol-induced impairment of inhibitory mechanisms of
behavioral control. Thus, the second experiment will examine the dissociation in acute recovery
of subjective intoxication and behavioral control in frequent and infrequent binge drinkers. It is
predicted that greater recovery in subjective intoxication, yet no recovery in inhibitory control and
driving, in frequent binge drinkers may account for the greater accident risk in this demographic
group.
Status | Finished |
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Effective start/end date | 1/1/06 → 6/30/08 |
Funding
- Alcoholic Beverage Medical Research Foundation: $100,000.00
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