title: Effects of energy drinks mixed with alcohol on behavioral control: risks for college students consuming trendy cocktails.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There has been a dramatic rise in the consumption of alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AmED) in young people. AmED have been implicated in risky drinking practices and greater accidents and injuries have been associated with their consumption. Despite the increased popularity of these beverages (e.g., Red Bull and vodka), there is little laboratory research examining how the effects of AmED differ from alcohol alone. This experiment was designed to investigate if the consumption of AmED alters neurocognitive and subjective measures of intoxication compared with the consumption of alcohol alone.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants (n=56) attended 1 session where they were randomly assigned to receive one of 4 doses (0.65 g/kg alcohol, 3.57 ml/kg energy drink, AmED, or a placebo beverage). Performance on a cued go/no-go task was used to measure the response of inhibitory and activational mechanisms of behavioral control following dose administration. Subjective ratings of stimulation, sedation, impairment, and level of intoxication were recorded.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Alcohol alone impaired both inhibitory and activational mechanisms of behavioral control, as evidenced by increased inhibitory failures and increased response times compared to baseline performance. Coadministration of the energy drink with alcohol counteracted some of the alcohol-induced impairment of response activation, but not response inhibition. For subjective effects, alcohol increased ratings of stimulation, feeling the drink, liking the drink, impairment, and level of intoxication, and alcohol decreased the rating of ability to drive. Coadministration of the energy drink with alcohol increased self-reported stimulation, but resulted in similar ratings of the other subjective effects as when alcohol was administered alone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An energy drink appears to alter some of the objective and subjective impairing effects of alcohol, but not others. Thus, AmED may contribute to a high-risk scenario for the drinker. The mix of impaired behavioral inhibition and enhanced stimulation is a combination that may make AmED consumption riskier than alcohol consumption alone.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Science, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, KY 41099, USA. marczinskc1@nku.edu
authors.forename: Cecile A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Marczinski
authors.forename: Mark T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Fillmore
authors.forename: Mark E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Bardgett
authors.forename: Meagan A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Howard
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000097:blood; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000009:adverse effects*; D032763:Behavior Control / Q000379:methods; D001628:Beverages / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012927:Social Control, Informal / Q000379:methods; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult