Role of feedback in formation of acute tolerance to alcohol.
OBJECTIVE
The contributions of feedback to formation of acute ethanol tolerance were studied during performance of a task that allowed practice in the absence of feedback about performance accuracy.


METHODS
The perceptual instability of the seen environment during head movement (apparent concomitant motion, ACM) and the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) were measured before and after alcohol ingestion. In separate conditions, eight (six female) subjects were either deprived or not deprived of normal vision of the laboratory during the portion of the experiment following onset of alcohol ingestion.


RESULTS
Alcohol caused ACM in the direction opposite head rotation to increase in both sessions. The degree of ACM increase was greater during sessions in which visual feedback was prevented than in sessions in which subjects could see the surroundings. The increase in ACM was accompanied by a decrease in gain of the VOR which was relatively larger in the no-feedback condition. In addition, ACM returned to normal (pre-alcohol ingestion) values more rapidly during sessions in which subjects received visual feedback.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that feedback is an important component in forming acute tolerance to alcohol, independent of task practice.
Post
R B
RB
Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis 95616, USA.
Tavano
L A
LA
Maddock
R J
RJ
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D004361:Drug Tolerance / Q000502:physiology*; D005133:Eye Movements / Q000187:drug effects; D005246:Feedback / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D019416:Head Movements / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007721:Knowledge of Results, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000187:drug effects; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects*; D012027:Reflex, Vestibulo-Ocular / Q000187:drug effects; D013997:Time Factors; D013996:Time and Motion Studies