title: Effects of ethanol on kinaesthetic perception.
abstract: In normal subjects, alcohol increases handwriting size, but the mechanism is not understood. Here we show that the alcohol effect on handwriting can be explained by a selective impairment of kinaesthetic perception. Thirty volunteers (15 male, aged 18-29 years) took part in an open study. They were tested before and after a drink containing vodka intended to produce a blood alcohol concentration of about 80mg/100ml. Tests included kinaesthetic distance estimation, in which volunteers worked with preferred hand and arm behind a screen which hid their movements; visual distance estimation; and measures of handwriting and drawing. Blood alcohol concentration at 55min, based on breathalyser measurements, was 76.7mg/100ml (SD 9.8). When asked to move the hand and mark a distance of 10cm from a starting point, distances estimates increased by 7-10% (p 0.01). Similar increases were seen for writing words and drawing characters. Signatures were increased in height but not in length. Distances estimated visually were increased much less, by 3-4% (p 0.05). Tests of psychomotor performance indicated the expected effects of ethanol. These results suggest that ethanol affects writing size by reducing kinaesthetically perceived distances.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. brian@penscreen.com
authors.forename: Brian
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tiplady
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Baird
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lütcke
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Drummond
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wright
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004215:Distance Perception / Q000187:drug effects; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006236:Handwriting; D006801:Humans; D007699:Kinesthesis / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D011434:Proprioception / Q000187:drug effects; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D012858:Size Perception / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol