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Individual differences in acute alcohol impairment of inhibitory control predict ad libitum alcohol consumption

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Abstract

Rationale

Research has begun to examine how acute cognitive impairment from alcohol could contribute to alcohol abuse. Specifically, alcohol-induced impairment of inhibitory control could compromise the drinker’s ability to stop the self-administration of alcohol, increasing the risk of binge drinking.

Objective

The present study was designed to test this hypothesis by examining the relation between acute alcohol impairment of inhibitory control and alcohol consumption during a single drinking episode.

Materials and methods

Twenty-six healthy adults performed a cued go/no-go task that measured inhibitory control. The study tested the degree to which their inhibitory control was impaired by a moderate dose of alcohol (0.65 g/kg) versus a placebo and the extent to which individual differences in this impairment predicted levels of alcohol consumption as assessed by ad lib drinking in the laboratory.

Results

In accord with the hypothesis, greater impairment of inhibitory control from alcohol was associated with increased ad lib consumption.

Conclusion

Acute impairment of inhibitory control might be an important cognitive effect that contributes to abuse in addition to the positive rewarding effects of the drug.

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Acknowledgement

This research was supported by grant R21 DA021027 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and by grant R01 AA12895 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40506-0044, USA

    Jessica Weafer & Mark T. Fillmore

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  1. Jessica Weafer
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  2. Mark T. Fillmore
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Correspondence to Mark T. Fillmore.

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Weafer, J., Fillmore, M.T. Individual differences in acute alcohol impairment of inhibitory control predict ad libitum alcohol consumption. Psychopharmacology 201, 315–324 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-008-1284-7

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