Citation

Boissoneault J, Sklar A, Prather R, Nixon SJ. J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs 2014; 75(5): 870-879.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Alcohol Research Documentation, Inc., Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

25208205

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Despite substantial attention being paid to the health benefits of moderate alcohol intake as a lifestyle, the acute effects of alcohol on psychomotor and working memory function in older adults are poorly understood.

METHOD: The effects of low to moderate doses of alcohol on neurobehavioral function were investigated in 39 older (55-70 years; 15 men) and 51 younger (25-35 years; 31 men) social drinkers. Subjects received one of three randomly assigned doses (placebo,.04 g/dl, or.065 g/dl target breath alcohol concentration). After beverage consumption, they completed the Trail Making Test Parts A and B and a working memory task requiring participants to determine whether probe stimuli were novel or had been presented in a preceding set of cue stimuli. Efficiency of working memory task performance was derived from accuracy and reaction time measures.

RESULTS: Alcohol was associated with poorer Trail Making Test Part B performance for older subjects. Working memory task results suggested an Age × Dose interaction for performance efficiency, with older but not younger adults demonstrating alcohol-related change. Directionality of change and whether effects on accuracy or reaction time drove the change depended on the novelty of probe stimuli.

CONCLUSIONS: This study replicates previous research indicating increased susceptibility of older adults to moderate alcohol-induced psychomotor and set-shifting impairment and suggests such susceptibility extends to working memory performance. Further research using additional tasks and assessing other neuropsychological domains is needed. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs, 75, 870-879, 2014).

Language: en