Low Dose Alcohol Effects on Early Processing in Non-Problem Drinkers

描述(由申请人提供)：传统上，中等剂量的酒精消费被认为是安全的，因为他们提供的醉酒水平最低。然而，最近的研究表明，即使是低到中等剂量水平也可能与与日常活动相关的复杂神经行为任务的损害有关。需要进一步的工作来发现隐藏在这些缺陷背后的神经行为系统(S)。在目前的项目中，我们计划使用电生理技术来测量中等剂量酒精引起的潜意识感觉加工的干扰，并测试这些干扰与注意偏差任务中的表现缺陷的程度。我们假设，摄入这些剂量将损害用于过滤无关环境刺激来保护高阶注意系统的感觉机制，导致我们在行为任务中表现较差。 根据最近关于表现和感知损伤之间的分离的数据，我们还将调查自我报告的醉酒水平与感觉和注意系统中断之间的关系。使用年龄在25岁至55岁之间的健康、男性和女性中度饮酒者，将采用双盲、安慰剂对照设计，三个剂量水平(0.0%、0.04%和0.065%)。这些实验的结果将为我们提供有关酒精剂量的重要信息，这些剂量通常被认为是良性的，对重要的意识前神经行为过程的影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Traditionally, consumption of moderate alcohol doses has been considered safe due to the minimal level of intoxication they confer. Recent studies, however, suggest that even low to moderate dose levels may be associated with impairments in complex neurobehavioral tasks relevant to daily activities. Further work to uncover the neurobehavioral system(s) underlying these deficits is needed. In the current project, we plan to use electrophysiological techniques to measure disruptions in preconscious sensory processing induced by moderate alcohol doses and test the extent to which these disruptions are associated with performance deficits on a task of attentional bias. We posit that consumption of these doses will impair sensory mechanisms used to protect higher-order attentional systems by filtering irrelevant environmental stimuli, resulting in poorer performance on our behavioral task. In light of recent data regarding the disassociation between performance and perceived impairment, we will also investigate the relationship between self-reported levels of intoxication and disruptions of sensory and attentional systems. Using healthy, male and female non-problem moderate drinkers between the ages of 25 and 55, a double-blind, placebo controlled design with three dose levels (0.0%, 0.04% and 0.065%) will be employed. The results of these experiments will provide us with important information regarding the effects of alcohol doses typically believed to be benign on important preconscious neurobehavioral processes.