Environmental dependence of behavioral control mechanisms: effects of alcohol and information processing demands.
Studies show that alcohol increases a drinker's reliance on the environmental context for the maintenance of inhibitory and activational responding. The author of the present study examined additive effects of alcohol and cognitive load on the cue dependency of inhibitory and activational mechanisms of control. Adults received 0.0 g/kg, 0.45 g/kg, and 0.65 g/kg alcohol and performed a cued go/no-go task that presented simple and complex go and no-go stimuli. Results showed that cue dependency of response inhibition increased as a function of dose, and this effect was similar across low and high cognitive load conditions. These findings are consistent with a capacity limitation account of alcohol impairment that could involve central or output stages of information processing.
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA. mtfill2@uky.edu
Mark T
MT
Fillmore
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003463:Cues; D003858:Dependency, Psychological; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004777:Environment; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D012737:Sex Factors; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis
D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol