ABSTRACT. Objective: Perceived impairment and psychomotor performance following acute alcohol administration in older (ages 50-74, n = 42; 22 male) and younger (ages 25-35, n = 26; 12 male) adults were investigated in this study. Method: Double-blind, placebo-controlled alcohol administration techniques were designed to produce peak levels of breath alcohol concentration consistent with an episode of social drinking (40 mg/100 ml). Behavioral measures (Trail Making Test, Forms A and B), as well as measures of self-reported perceived intoxication and impairment, were administered on the ascending and descending limbs at common time points after beverage ingestion. Results: Results indicated that psychomotor performance differences did not parallel self-reported levels of perceived impairment. Relative to younger adults, older adults exhibited performance defi cits on the ascending limb while simultaneously reporting less perceived impairment. Conversely, on the descending limb, older adults who received alcohol reported more perceived impairment than did those who received placebo, although psychomotor performance between these two groups of older drinkers did not differ. For younger participants, a moderate dose of alcohol facilitated performance on the ascending limb; however, these differences were not refl ected on the descending limb. Conclusions: These results reinforce the common knowledge that self-reported measures may not provide an accurate refl ection of performance outcomes and, importantly, that older adults may be impaired even under a moderate dose of alcohol, although they may not be aware (i.e., report) of this impairment. (J. Stud. Alcohol Drugs 70: [242][243][244][245][246][247][248][249][250][251][252] 2009)

The lack of legal recognition of same-sex couples can leave partners vulnerable in a crisis or emergency. Advance planning is one strategy couples can use to establish legal rights. Analyses of data collected from both partners in 131 same-sex couples suggested that executing advance-planning documents (wills, powers of attorney for finance and health care, and living wills) was associated with age and couple-level relational variables. Older couples and couples that reported higher commitment levels were more likely to have executed the four documents. Couples who had disclosed their relationship to a higher percentage of their relatives were more likely to have executed wills and living wills. Implications of these findings for public policy and social services affecting same-sex couples are discussed.

ABSTRACT. Objective: Despite substantial attention being paid to the health benefi ts 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. Effi ciency 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 effi ciency, 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 alcoholinduced 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)

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Background Studies exploring differential effects of acute alcohol consumption on younger and older adults are lacking within the field of alcohol research, especially those using moderate doses. Previous studies addressing this question have tended to use complex behavioral tasks too broad to isolate specific neurocognitive processes affected by both alcohol and aging. Compromises in cognitive efficiency (i.e. the ability to respond both quickly and accurately) have previously been identified in both elderly and acutely intoxicated individuals. Methods The present study employed a visual-spatial, two-choice reaction time task to evaluate the interactive effects of aging and alcohol on cognitive efficiency. Our primary outcome measure was an efficiency ratio derived from each participant’s response accuracy (ACC) and mean reaction time (RT) (%correct/RT). Younger (25 – 35; n=22) and older (55 – 74; n=37) participants were randomly assigned to receive either a placebo or moderate alcohol dose intended to produce a peak BrAC of 0.04%. Participants performed the task at peak alcohol levels. Results: A significant interaction between age group and dose assignment was observed (F3,55=4.86, p=.03) for the efficiency ratio. Younger participants who received alcohol performed significantly better than did their older counterparts regardless of alcohol condition and despite no differences in performance between the two age groups in the placebo condition. Additional correlation analyses between ACC and RT suggested that moderately intoxicated older adults become more accurate as response times increase. This relationship was not observed in older adults in the placebo condition. Conclusions These data suggest that healthy individuals exhibit a differential susceptibility to the effects of alcohol depending on their age. Unfortunately, due to the presumed safety of moderate alcohol doses and a lack of studies investigating the interactive effects of acute alcohol consumption and aging, most individuals are unlikely to be aware of this relationship between alcohol consumption and age.