Neurophysiological Correlates of Moderate Alcohol Use in Older Adults.

描述（由申请人提供）：传统观点和大量科学证据表明，摄入少量酒精会给使用者带来多种健康益处，包括降低患冠状动脉疾病、2型糖尿病和某些类型癌症的风险。鉴于这种情况，通常的医学做法是建议那些已经喝酒的人继续喝酒，尽管是适度的。虽然这种做法有直观的意义，但即使是小剂量的急性酒精也会对使用者的神经认知和精神运动表现产生微妙但可测量的影响，这可能会给个人带来一些风险。我们实验室的初步证据表明，适度饮酒对精神运动和神经认知表现的影响可能因个人年龄以及许多其他个人因素而异。拟议的项目通过测量与急性适度饮酒相关的电生理和精神运动变化，并比较两个相关年龄组的结果来扩展这些初步发现：年轻人（25-40岁）和老年人（55- 70岁）。虽然这不是本建议的主要重点，但也将进行探讨潜在性别影响的探索性分析。为此，我们打算招募同等数量的男性和女性参与这项研究。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Conventional wisdom and a substantial body of scientific evidence suggests that the intake of small amounts of alcohol confers a variety of health benefits to the user including reduced risk of coronary artery disease, type-2 diabetes, and some types of cancer. Given that this is the case, it is common medical practice to recommend to those individuals who already drink alcohol that they continue to drink, albeit moderately. Although this practice makes intuitive sense, even small acute doses of alcohol have been shown to have subtle, yet measurable effects on neurocognition and psychomotor performance in the user which may confer some risk to that individual. Preliminary evidence from our laboratory suggests the effect of these moderate drinking episodes on psychomotor and neurocognitive performance may differd epending on the individual's age as well as a host of other individual factors. The proposed project extends these preliminary findings through measurement of electrophysiological and psychomotor changes associated with acute moderate drinking and comparing results between two relevant age groups: younger adults (25-40 years of age) and older adults (55- 70 years of age). Although not the primary focus of this proposal, exploratory analyses characterizing potential gender effects will also be conducted. To this end, we intend to recruit equal numbers of men and women for the study. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Drinking alcohol in small amounts may help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, and some types of cancer. However, the consumption of even small amounts of alcohol in a single sitting results in temporary changes in brain function that may increase the risk of automobile accidents and other potentially damaging events. The role that a person's age and sex plays in the mechanism by which alcohol affects relevant brain systems is unclear. This project aims to clarify these issues, which may help improve recommendations for safer drinking in the general public.