Christian C Garcia1,2,3, Ben Lewis1,2,3, Jeff Boissoneault3,4, Sara Jo Nixon1,2,3. 1. Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. 2. Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. 3. University of Florida Center for Addiction Research & Education, Gainesville, Florida. 4. Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Despite increased attention to risks and benefits associated with moderate drinking lifestyles among aging adults, relatively few empirical studies focus on acute alcohol effects in older drinkers. Using electroencephalographic indices of early attention modulation (P1 and N1) and later stimulus processing (P3), we investigated whether acute alcohol consumption at socially relevant doses differentially influences neurocognitive performance in older, relative to younger, moderate drinkers. METHOD:Younger (25-35 years; n = 97) and older (55-70 years; n = 87) healthy drinkers were randomly assigned to receive one of three alcohol doses (placebo, .04 g/dl, or .065 g/dl target breath alcohol concentrations). Repeated-measures analysis of variance examined the effects of age, alcohol dose concentration, and their potential interaction on P1/P3 amplitudes and N1 latency during completion of a directed attend/ignore task. RESULTS: Age-specific effects on P1 amplitudes varied by instruction set, with alcohol-associated decreases in amplitude among older drinkers in response to task-relevant stimuli and increases to irrelevant stimuli, F(2, 141) = 2.70, p = .07, ηp2 = .04. In contrast, N1 analyses demonstrated alcohol-related latency reductions among older, relative to younger, adults, F(2, 83) = 3.42, p = .04. Although no Age × Alcohol interactions were detected for P3, main effects indicated dose-dependent amplitude reductions for relevant stimuli, F(2, 144) = 5.73, p < .01, ηp2 = .08. CONCLUSIONS: Our results underscore the impact of acute moderate alcohol consumption on attentional functioning, highlighting age-dependent sensitivity in electrophysiological indices of early attentional processing. Given the import of attentional functioning to quality of life and increases in drinking among a rapidly expanding aging population, these findings have broad public health relevance.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: Despite increased attention to risks and benefits associated with moderate drinking lifestyles among aging adults, relatively few empirical studies focus on acute alcohol effects in older drinkers. Using electroencephalographic indices of early attention modulation (P1 and N1) and later stimulus processing (P3), we investigated whether acute alcohol consumption at socially relevant doses differentially influences neurocognitive performance in older, relative to younger, moderate drinkers. METHOD: Younger (25-35 years; n = 97) and older (55-70 years; n = 87) healthy drinkers were randomly assigned to receive one of three alcohol doses (placebo, .04 g/dl, or .065 g/dl target breath alcohol concentrations). Repeated-measures analysis of variance examined the effects of age, alcohol dose concentration, and their potential interaction on P1/P3 amplitudes and N1 latency during completion of a directed attend/ignore task. RESULTS:Age-specific effects on P1 amplitudes varied by instruction set, with alcohol-associated decreases in amplitude among older drinkers in response to task-relevant stimuli and increases to irrelevant stimuli, F(2, 141) = 2.70, p = .07, ηp2 = .04. In contrast, N1 analyses demonstrated alcohol-related latency reductions among older, relative to younger, adults, F(2, 83) = 3.42, p = .04. Although no Age × Alcohol interactions were detected for P3, main effects indicated dose-dependent amplitude reductions for relevant stimuli, F(2, 144) = 5.73, p < .01, ηp2 = .08. CONCLUSIONS: Our results underscore the impact of acute moderate alcohol consumption on attentional functioning, highlighting age-dependent sensitivity in electrophysiological indices of early attentional processing. Given the import of attentional functioning to quality of life and increases in drinking among a rapidly expanding aging population, these findings have broad public health relevance.
Authors: Ben Lewis; Christian C Garcia; Jeff Boissoneault; Julianne L Price; Sara Jo Nixon Journal: J Stud Alcohol Drugs Date: 2019-01 Impact factor: 2.582
Authors: Donald M Dougherty; Dawn M Marsh-Richard; Erin S Hatzis; Sylvain O Nouvion; Charles W Mathias Journal: Drug Alcohol Depend Date: 2008-04-02 Impact factor: 4.492