Preresponse cues reduce the impairing effects of alcohol on the execution and suppression of responses.

Abstract

The present study examined the effects of alcohol on the ability to execute and inhibit behavior in a context in which preliminary information signaled the likelihood that a response should be executed or suppressed. Social drinkers (N = 12) performed a cued go/no-go task that required quick responses to go targets and suppression of responses to no-go targets. Performance was tested under 3 doses of alcohol: 0.65 g/kg, 0.45 g/kg, and 0.0 g/kg (placebo). Alcohol had no effect on inhibition and execution when cues correctly signaled these actions. By contrast, alcohol impaired inhibition and execution in a dose-dependent manner when cues incorrectly signaled actions. These findings are consistent with a resource limitation account of alcohol impairment.

Acute disinhibiting effects of alcohol as a factor in risky driving behavior

“…Go/No-Go Task-Inhibitory control was measured by a cued go/no-go reaction time task used in other research to measure the disinhibiting effects of alcohol (e.g., Fillmore et al, 2005a;Marczinski and Fillmore, 2003). Cues provide preliminary information regarding the type of imperative target stimulus (i.e., go or no-go) that is likely to follow.…”

“…Stop-signal and cued go/no-go tasks are reaction time tasks used to model behavioral control as the ability to quickly activate a response to a go-signal and suddenly inhibit a response when a stop-signal occurs (Logan, 1994;Logan and Cowan, 1984;Miller et al, 1991). Studies using these tasks have found that alcohol impairs the ability to inhibit behavior (e.g., de Wit et al, 2000;Fillmore and VogelSprott, 2000;Marczinski and Fillmore, 2003;Mulvihill et al, 1997). Evidence for the reliable impairing effects on inhibitory control in this research is particularly noteworthy given the comparatively mild alcohol doses administered (e.g., 0.45 g/kg -0.65 g/kg) and the relatively simple nature of the inhibitory response tested.…”

The influence of groups and alcohol consumption on individual risk-taking

“…Impulsive, or disinhibited, individuals share a number of characteristics, whereby they appear to make quick decisions, carry out unplanned behaviours (Fernie et al, 2010;Weafer & Fillmore, 2012b) and have difficultly inhibiting prepotent responses, diminishing behavioural constraint (Giancola et al, 2010;Leeman et al, 2009). Assessing these characteristics, disinhibition is typically tested in a laboratory using behavioural tasks such as the go/no-go task (Marczinski & Fillmore, 2003), where reaction time and frequency of failed attempts to inhibit behaviour (such as a button pressing) are measured. Accordingly, research using this behavioural task has found that alcohol consumption seems to be associated with a longer reaction time during trials requiring inhibition, and increases in inhibitory failures (false alarms) Weafer et al, 2011).…”

“…It has long been suggested that alcohol-induced increases in risky behaviour are a result of the pharmacological effects of alcohol on cognition, including impairments in inhibition and enhanced impulsivity (c.f., Marczinski & Fillmore, 2003;Weafer, Milich, & Fillmore Mark, 2011). Alcohol-related injuries could therefore be asserted (at least in part) to be a product of cognitive deficits which may precipitate potentially harmful/risky behaviours such as drink-driving (e.g., , sexual risk-taking (e.g., Rehm, Shield, Joharchi, & Shuper, 2012;ScottSheldon, Carey, Cunningham, Johnson, & Carey, 2016), and aggressive acts (e.g., Ito, Miller, & Pollock, 1996).…”

“…When investigating impulsivity and risk-taking (independently), both are largely measured via behavioural tasks in a laboratory, such as the Go/No-Go Task (Marczinski & Fillmore, 2003), and the balloon analogue risk task (Lejuez et al, 2002). While behavioural measures are useful as they are not confounded by self-report errors and misjudgements on one's own behaviour (Lane et al, 2003), they are also limited due to mostly capturing only specified elements of (impulsive) behaviour (B.…”