Alcohol-influenced changes in activation peaking during paired-associate verbal learning.
Activation response patterning, termed activation peaking, was examined to understand the effects of alcohol intoxication on complex information processing. A total of 23 men social drinkers were divided into alcohol and placebo groups: Ns = 10 and 13, respectively. The alcohol group was administered enough alcohol to obtain blood alcohol levels of at least 10 mg/dl. Heart rate and skin conductance was measured before and during paired-associate learning. Learning consisted of a random presentation of eight letter-word pairs followed by the presentation of letters only, with subjects required to remember the associated word. Results showed a clear pattern of peripheral activation related to verbal learning behavior in the alcohol group, with no differences between the groups in verbal learning performance.
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000523:psychology; D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects*; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000187:drug effects; D008875:Middle Aged; D010153:Paired-Associate Learning / Q000187:drug effects*
D000431:Ethanol