title: Effects of two doses of alcohol on simulator driving performance in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.
abstract: Prior studies have documented greater impairments in driving performance and greater alcohol consumption among adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study examined whether alcohol consumption produces a differentially greater impairment in driving among adults with ADHD in comparison to a community control group. The present study compared 50 adults with ADHD (mean age 33 years) and 40 control adults (mean age 29 years) on the effects of 2 single, acute doses of alcohol (0.04 and 0.08 blood alcohol concentration) and a placebo on their driving performance. The authors used a virtual reality driving simulator, examiner and self-ratings of simulator performance, and a continuous performance test (CPT) to evaluate attention and inhibition. Approximately half of the adults in each group were randomized to either the low or high dose alcohol treatment arms. Alcohol consumption produced a greater impact on the CPT inattention measures of the ADHD than the control group. Similar results were obtained for the behavioral observations taken during the operation of the driving simulator. Driving simulator scores, however, showed mainly a deleterious effect of alcohol on all participants but no differentially greater effect on the ADHD group. The present results demonstrated that alcohol may have a greater detrimental effect on some aspects of driving performance in ADHD than control adults.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Medical University of South Carolina, Mount Pleasant, SC 29466, USA. russellbarkley@earthlink.net
authors.forename: Russell A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Barkley
authors.forename: Kevin R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Trisha
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: O'Connell
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Daniel F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Connor
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000523:psychology; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects*; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009949:Orientation / Q000187:drug effects*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects*; D012016:Reference Values; D012307:Risk Factors; D014584:User-Computer Interface
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol