The effects of acute alcohol on psychomotor, set-shifting, and working memory performance in older men and women.
A limited number of publications have documented the effects of acute alcohol administration among older adults. Among these, only a few have investigated sex differences within this population. The current project examined the behavioral effects of acute low- and moderate-dose alcohol on 62 older (ages 55-70) male and female, healthy, light to moderate drinkers. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three dose conditions: placebo (peak breath alcohol concentration [BrAC] of 0 mg/dL), low (peak BrAC of 40 mg/dL), and moderate (peak BrAC of 65 mg/dL). Tasks assessed psychomotor, set-shifting, and working memory performance. Better set-shifting abilities were observed among women, whereas men demonstrated more efficient working memory, regardless of dose. The moderate-dose group did not significantly differ from the placebo group on any task. However, the low-dose group performed better than the moderate-dose group across measures of set shifting and working memory. Relative to the placebo group, the low-dose group exhibited better working memory, specifically for faces. Interestingly, there were no sex by dose interactions. These data suggest that, at least for our study's task demands, low and moderate doses of alcohol do not significantly hinder psychomotor, set-shifting, or working memory performance among older adults. In fact, low-dose alcohol may facilitate certain cognitive abilities. Furthermore, although sex differences in cognitive abilities were observed, these alcohol doses did not differentially affect men and women. Further investigation is necessary to better characterize the effects of sex and alcohol dose on cognition in older adults.
University of Florida, Department of Psychiatry, P.O. Box 100256, Gainesville, FL 32610-0256, USA. Electronic address: lahoffman@ufl.edu.
Lauren A
LA
Hoffman
University of Florida, Department of Psychiatry, P.O. Box 100256, Gainesville, FL 32610-0256, USA.
Alfredo L
AL
Sklar
University of Florida, Department of Psychiatry, P.O. Box 100256, Gainesville, FL 32610-0256, USA.
Sara Jo
SJ
Nixon
D000368:Aged; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000523:psychology; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects; D001944:Breath Tests; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000187:drug effects; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000187:drug effects*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects*; D012737:Sex Factors
D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol
Acute administration; Alcohol; Older adults; Sex differences; Trail making test; Working memory task