Low-Dose Alcohol Effects on Attention in Adolescents

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 103-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer F. Scheel ◽  
Karin Schielke ◽  
Stefan Lautenbacher ◽  
Sabine Aust ◽  
Simone Kremer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Low Dose ◽  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Alcohol Condition ◽  
Memory Flexibility ◽  
Alcohol Effects ◽  
Placebo Drink

Objective: Relatively little is known about the effects of low-dose alcohol effects on attentional performance in adolescents. In the present study, we examined these effects compared to those in adults. Method: 44 healthy subjects (21 adolescents and 23 adults) received either an alcoholic cocktail (average blood alcohol concentration: 0.054 %) or a placebo drink (randomized placebo-controlled). Before and after consuming the drink, participants completed tests on Alertness, Working Memory, Flexibility and Divided Attention. Results: Significant effects were found for the subtest Flexibility, which showed less improvement in the adolescents with alcohol compared to the non-alcohol condition and adults. Furthermore, an age-independent alcohol-induced impairment of the subtest Working Memory was observed. Conclusions: These findings point to a particular vulnerability for alcohol effects in adolescents regarding cognitive flexibility.

Task Demand and Alcohol Effects on Simulated Driving Performance

1986 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Ranney ◽  
Valerie J. Gawron
Keyword(s):  
Simulation Experiment ◽  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Driving Performance ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Task Demand ◽  
General Measure ◽  
Alcohol Condition ◽  
Alcohol Impaired Driving ◽  
Driving Task ◽  
Alcohol Effects

The effects of alcohol-impaired driving were hypothesized to vary depending upon the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of the driver and the external demands of the driving situation. To examine the effects of task demand on the performance of drivers under sober and alcohol-dosed conditions, a driving simulation experiment was conducted. Twelve subjects drove a simulator under three levels of BAC and two levels of task demand. The task required negotiation of curves, responses to selected traffic signs and avoidance of unexpected obstacles. Alcohol effects were evident in overall driving performance, in the responses to curves, and in the number of obstacles struck. Increasing the demands of the driving task had no effect on performance in curve approach and negotiation, and influenced only one general measure of driving performance. With the exception of reaction time to signs, increased task demand did not change the effects of alcohol. In the high demand/high alcohol condition, subjects were able to compensate for the increased number of obstacles struck by more efficient responding to signs.

Multiattribute Modeling Analysis of the Effects of a Low Blood Alcohol Level on Pilot Performance

1988 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard E. Ross ◽  
James C. Mundt
Keyword(s):  
Task Analysis ◽  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Flight Performance ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Pilot Performance ◽  
Modeling Analysis ◽  
Flight Instructors ◽  
Alcohol Effects ◽  
And Performance

Multiattribute modeling procedures were used to evaluate the flight performance of pilots who completed a simulator flight under 0 and 0.04% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) conditions. The flight involved VOR tracking, vectoring, traffic avoidance, and descent. Flight instructors' judgments were used to develop a multiattribute model of flight performance that permitted evaluation of the effects of alcohol on overall flight performance, as well as on task segment and performance aspect components of the flight. Alcohol was found to have a significant deleterious effect on overall pilot performance and on some of the task segments. The multiattribute modeling approach was found to be useful in providing a task analysis function that permitted alcohol effects to be evaluated in a manner that reflected pilot concentration on some aspects of the flight task at the expense of others.

scholarly journals The effect of lowering the legal blood alcohol concentration limit on driving under the influence (DUI) in southern Taiwan: a cross-sectional retrospective analysis

BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. e026481 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-Chin Tsai ◽  
Shao-Chun Wu ◽  
Jin-Fu Huang ◽  
Spencer C H Kuo ◽  
Cheng-Shyuan Rau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Driving Under The Influence ◽  
Concentration Limit ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Helmet Use ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Southern Taiwan ◽  
Car Crashes ◽  
Motorcycle Crashes

ObjectivesWe aimed to profile the epidemiological changes of driving under the influence (DUI) in southern Taiwan after the legal blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit was lowered from 50 to 30 mg/dL in 2013.SettingLevel 1 trauma medical centre in southern Taiwan.ParticipantsData from 7447 patients (4375 males and 3072 females) were retrieved from the trauma registry system of a single trauma centre to examine patient characteristics (gender, age and BAC), clinical outcome variables (Abbreviated Injury Score, Injury Severity Score and mortality) and vehicular crash-related factors (vehicle type, airbag use in car crashes, helmet use in motorcycle crashes and time of crash) before and after the BAC limit change.ResultsOur results indicated that the percentage of DUI patients significantly declined from 10.99% (n=373) to 6.64% (n=269) after the BAC limit was lowered. Airbag use in car crashes (OR: 0.30, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.88, p=0.007) and helmet use in motorcycle crashes (OR: 0.20, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.26, p<0.001) was lower in DUI patients compared with non-DUI patients after the BAC limit change, with significant negative correlation. DUI behaviour increased crash mortality risk before the BAC limit change (OR: 4.33, 95% CI 2.20 to 8.54), and even more so after (OR: 5.60, 95% CI 3.16 to 9.93). The difference in ORs for mortality before and after the change in the BAC legal limit was not significant (p=0.568).ConclusionThis study revealed that lowering the BAC limit to 30 mg/dL significantly reduced the number of DUI events, but failed to result in a significant reduction in mortality in these trauma patients.

The Importance of Alcohol Testing by Gas Chromatography vs the Cordebard Classical Method Modified in the Medico Legal Investigation

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
pp. 2407-2410
Author(s):  
Dan Perju Dumbrava ◽  
Carmen Corina Radu ◽  
Sofia David ◽  
Tatiana Iov ◽  
Catalin Jan Iov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gas Chromatography ◽  
Chromatographic Method ◽  
Classical Method ◽  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Technical Details ◽  
Gas Chromatographic Method ◽  
Alcohol Testing ◽  
Living Person

Considering the growing number of requests from the criminal investigations authorities addressed to the institutions of legal medicine, testing of blood alcohol concentration both in the living person and in the corpse, we believe that a presentation of the two methods which are used in our country, is a topic of interest at present. The purpose of this article is to provide the reader with the technical details on how blodd alcohol concentration is realised by means of the gas chromatographic method and the classical one, (Cordebard modified by D. Banciu and I. Droc) respectively. Another purpose of this article is to also show, in a comparative way, the elements that make the gas chromatographic method superior to the former one.

A Driving Simulator Study of the Performance Effects of Low Blood Alcohol Concentration

1996 ◽  
Vol 40 (18) ◽  
pp. 943-946 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Wade Allen ◽  
Zareh Parseghian ◽  
Anthony C. Stein
Keyword(s):  
Divided Attention ◽  
Driving Simulator ◽  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Performance Effects ◽  
Driving Task ◽  
Simulator Study ◽  
And Performance

There is a large body of research that documents the impairing effect of alcohol on driving behavior and performance. Some of the most significant alcohol influence seems to occur in divided attention situations when the driver must simultaneously attend to several aspects of the driving task. This paper describes a driving simulator study of the effect of a low alcohol dose, .055 BAC (blood alcohol concentration %/wt), on divided attention performance. The simulation was mechanized on a PC and presented visual and auditory feedback in a truck cab surround. Subjects were required to control speed and steering on a rural two lane road while attending to a peripheral secondary task. The subject population was composed of 33 heavy equipment operators who were tested during both placebo and drinking sessions. Multivariate Analysis of Variance showed a significant and practical alcohol effect on a range of variables in the divided attention driving task.

4. Are a Blood Alcohol Concentration of 256mg/dl and Minimal Signs of Impairment Reliable Indications of Alcohol Dependence?

1994 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
A W Jones
Keyword(s):  
Expert Witness ◽  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Drunk Driving ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Driving Under The Influence ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Lower Court ◽  
Dna Profile ◽  
Court Of Appeals ◽  
Driving Scenario

This article describes a drink-driving scenario where a woman was apprehended for driving under the influence (DUI) with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 256mg/dl1 The correctness of this result was vigorously challenged by a medical expert witness for the defence, who was actually a specialist in alcohol diseases. Despite reanalysis to confirm the BAC as well as a DNA profile to prove the identity of the blood specimen, the woman was acquitted of the charge of drunk driving by the lower court. However, she was subsequently found guilty in the High Court of Appeals with a unanimous decision and sentenced to four weeks imprisonment. This case report illustrates some of the problems surrounding the use of expert medical evidence by the defence to challenge the validity of the prosecution evidence based solely on a suspect's BAC. In situations such as these, an expert witness should be called by the prosecution to clarify and, if necessary, rebut medical and/or scientific opinions that might mislead the court and influence the outcome of the trial.

A Review of Alcohol-Impaired Driving: The Role of Blood Alcohol Concentration and Complexity of the Driving Task

2013 ◽  
Vol 58 (5) ◽  
pp. 1238-1250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teri L. Martin ◽  
Patricia A. M. Solbeck ◽  
Daryl J. Mayers ◽  
Robert M. Langille ◽  
Yvona Buczek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Alcohol Concentration ◽  
Blood Alcohol ◽  
Impaired Driving ◽  
Alcohol Impaired Driving ◽  
Driving Task
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