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Abstract:
Abstract: The effects of a single, large dose of alcohol have
been studied extensively, but how alcohol affects the brain under
more realistic drinking situations has received less attention. The
electrophysiological effects of cumulative doses of alcohol were
investigated as subjects were assessed before and after drinking
one, two, and three glasses of red wine, each glass one-hour apart.
In a double-blind procedure, subjects drank either regular
alcoholic or placebo non-alcoholic red wine in two separate
sessions. Forty channels of EEG were recorded under resting
conditions and in two load levels of an n-back working memory task.
Blood/breath alcohol concentration (BAC) peaked after the last
glass of alcoholic wine at .10 g/210 liters of breath, and
decreased linearly after drinking ceased. Numerous EEG and EP
effects of cumulative alcohol consumption were observed. EEG power
in the slow alpha, theta, and beta frequency bands increased with
alcohol ingestion. The latency of the N100 and P300 potentials
increased with alcohol, especially in the difficult task
conditions. Many of these effects had not diminished three hours
after subjects had stopped drinking, well after BAC decreased below
the legal driving limit. The results suggest that social alcohol
consumption has cumulative effects on the brain that persist for
hours after subjective intoxication has diminished. (Supported by
the National Institutes of Mental Health and National Institute of
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.)
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