Visual event perception in alcoholics.

A series of microcomputer-based procedures were devised to investigate the ability of alcoholics to detect and locate rapid visual changes, and to assess deficits of visual processing in this patient population. Forty alcoholics were tested 7-13 days after cessation of drinking (mean period of abstinence = 9.5 days), and 24 were retested 2-3 weeks later (mean abstinence = 27.8 days). In comparison to a matched control group the alcoholics were impaired on initial testing at locating visual events. Alcoholics also had significantly slower movement times in a visual-choice reaction time task, and were slower on visual search. At retest the alcoholics were impaired on one of the event perception tasks. Alcoholics were not impaired initially on a measure of visual memory span but were impaired at retest, possibly due to a learning deficit. It is concluded that alcoholics show a persisting deficit in the ability to notice and locate rapid visual changes, together with a transitory impairment on timed tasks requiring visually guided movement.