title: Alcohol affects the emotional modulation of cognitive control: an event-related brain potential study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The present study aimed to determine whether alcohol affects the emotional modulation of cognitive control and its underlying neural mechanisms, which is pivotal to an understanding of the socially maladaptive behaviors frequently seen in alcohol-intoxicated individuals.
  
  
  METHODS
  Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded in male participants receiving either a moderate dose of alcohol (0.65 g/kg alcohol; n = 32) or a non-alcoholic placebo beverage (n = 32) while performing an emotional Go/No-Go task that required response execution (Go trials) to pictures of a "target" emotional facial expression (angry, happy, neutral) and response inhibition (No-Go trials) to a different "non-target" expression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, N200 and P300 amplitudes were more enhanced during No-Go than Go trials. Interestingly, alcohol-intoxicated individuals displayed larger No-Go N200 amplitudes across all emotional conditions than controls, accompanied by decreased task performance (i.e., more errors), particularly in response to angry faces. P300 amplitude in the alcohol group was significantly reduced for both Go and No-Go trials, but only following angry and happy emotional expressions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that alcohol-intoxicated individuals need to effortfully activate more cognitive resources during the early inhibition process in order to regulate a response than controls. Moreover, alcohol affected the emotional modulation of both response inhibition and execution in the later stages of cognitive control. Alcohol dampened emotional responsiveness, which may restrict the availability of attentional resources for cognitive control. Yet, these findings may underlie the lack of control in alcohol-intoxicated individuals when faced with emotionally or socially challenging situations.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Psychology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Woudestein T12-59, P.O. Box 1738, 3000, DR, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. euser@fsw.eur.nl
authors.forename: Anja S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Euser
authors.forename: Ingmar H A
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Franken
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects*; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018913:Event-Related Potentials, P300 / Q000187:drug effects; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol