title: Separate and joint effects of alcohol and caffeine on conflict monitoring and adaptation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Caffeine is commonly believed to offset the acute effects of alcohol, but some evidence suggests that cognitive processes remain impaired when caffeine and alcohol are coadministered.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  No previous study has investigated the separate and joint effects of alcohol and caffeine on conflict monitoring and adaptation, processes thought to be critical for self-regulation. This was the purpose of the current study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Healthy, young adult social drinkers recruited from the community completed a flanker task after consuming one of four beverages in a 2 × 2 experimental design: Alcohol + caffeine, alcohol + placebo caffeine, placebo alcohol + caffeine, or placebo alcohol + placebo caffeine. Accuracy, response time, and the amplitude of the N2 component of the event-related potential (ERP), a neural index of conflict monitoring, were examined as a function of whether or not conflict was present (i.e., whether or not flankers were compatible with the target) on both the previous trial and the current trial.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Alcohol did not abolish conflict monitoring or adaptation. Caffeine eliminated conflict adaptation in sequential trials but also enhanced neural conflict monitoring. The combined effect of alcohol and caffeine was apparent only in how previous conflict affected the neural conflict monitoring response.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Together, the findings suggest that caffeine leads to exaggeration of attentional resource utilization, which could provide short-term benefits but lead to problems conserving resources for when they are most needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, 210 McAlester Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
authors.forename: Kira
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bailey
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, 210 McAlester Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Amlung
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, 210 McAlester Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, 210 McAlester Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
authors.forename: Mason H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Price
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, 210 McAlester Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
authors.forename: Curtis
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Von Gunten
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, 210 McAlester Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA. mccarthydm@missouri.edu.|Midwest Alcoholism Research Center, Columbia, MO, USA. mccarthydm@missouri.edu.
authors.forename: Denis M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: McCarthy
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, 210 McAlester Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA. bartholowb@missouri.edu.|Midwest Alcoholism Research Center, Columbia, MO, USA. bartholowb@missouri.edu.
authors.forename: Bruce D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Bartholow
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D002110:Caffeine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D004569:Electroencephalography; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D012917:Social Adjustment; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002110:Caffeine; D000431:Ethanol
keywords: Alcohol and caffeine; Cognitive control; Conflict adaptation; Conflict monitoring; ERPs; Event-related potentials
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