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Low-Dose Alcohol Effects on Measures of Inhibitory Control, Delay Discounting, and Risk-Taking

  • Alcohol (RF Leeman, Section Editor)
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Abstract

The per se limit for alcohol intoxication in the USA is a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 80 mg/100 ml. However, there is abundant evidence that skilled performance (e.g., information processing, motor coordination) is impaired at BACs well below this limit. By contrast, less is known regarding low-dose alcohol effects on impulsivity-related behaviors, including inhibitory control, delay discounting, and risk-taking. Here, we review the evidence to date regarding performance on behavioral impulsivity and decision-making tasks at BACs below the 80 mg/100 ml limit. Overall, below-limit doses of alcohol impair inhibitory control and increase risk-taking but do not affect delay discounting. Within each facet, alcohol effects were largely task-dependent. We discuss the results in relation to above-limit alcohol effects on these measures, as well as implications of these findings in terms of disadvantageous behavior at BACs below the legal level of intoxication.

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Acknowledgments

Support for this work was provided by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Grants R01AA021722 and R01AA018274 (MTF). The content of the article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agency.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Chicago, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, MC3077, Chicago, IL, 60637, USA

    Jessica Weafer

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, 171 Funkhouser Drive, Lexington, KY, 40506, USA

    Mark T. Fillmore

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  1. Jessica Weafer
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Correspondence to Jessica Weafer.

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Jessica Weafer and Mark T. Fillmore declare no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any new data from studies involving human participants or animal subjects performed by the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Alcohol

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Weafer, J., Fillmore, M.T. Low-Dose Alcohol Effects on Measures of Inhibitory Control, Delay Discounting, and Risk-Taking. Curr Addict Rep 3, 75–84 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-016-0086-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40429-016-0086-y

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