Effects of alcohol level on reaction time

Alcohol Reaction Time

Alcohol and Reaction Time: A Literature Review

Studies regarding the effects of alcohol have greatly contributed to the knowledge of the substance's reactions in the human body. Many doctors and scientists have written about the effects of alcohol, ranging from benefits in small doses to the effects that can seriously inhibit behavior. One of those effects is a delayed reaction time. Many studies have suggested that blood alcohol levels of 80mg/dl cause longer reaction times. Slowed reaction times can have serious effects on tasks such as driving and operating machinery. For this reason, it is important to determine exactly how alcohol impacts reaction time, and what problems slowed reaction time can cause. The following literature review will explore some of the work that has already been done on the subject.

In George, Rogers, and Duka's (2005) article, the researchers decided to test a group that is not often examined with regards to alcohol and alcohol usage, the social drinkers. According to the authors, "chronic alcohol abusers" have often been tested in regards to how alcohol affects their decision-making (George, Rogers, and Duka 2005, p. 160). In their study, "The acute effect of alcohol on decision making in social drinkers," the authors tested 32 social drinkers who drank 0.6/kg of alcohol or a non-alcoholic substance. The subjects were then given 80 gambling decision to make based on certain gains and losses. The researchers found that giving alcohol to social drinkers affects their ability to make good decisions during risky decision-making processes. Specifically, the authors determined that alcohol affects a person's ability to weigh the gains vs. The losses when it comes to risky behavior George, Rogers, and Duka 2005, p. 160).

Although this study does not deal directly with reaction time, it certainly adds to the body of literature regarding alcohol's effects on social drinkers. By suggesting that alcohol affects drinkers' ability to make good risky decisions, the research implies that decision-making is affected by alcohol use. As the purpose of studying alcohol's effects on reaction time is to determine whether or not drinkers can make good decisions under the influence of alcohol, this study has a similar goal.

Although reaction time is partly affiliated with decision-making, it is also associated with the physical ability to react. Thus, those who study reaction time in regards to blood alcohol level not only study those under the influence's ability to react to questions, such as those about gambling decisions, but they also study their ability to react physically to stimuli. This allows researchers to determine whether or not those under the influence are able to react physically in situations such as traffic emergencies. In their study, "Blood alcohol concentration and psychomotor effects," Grant, Millar, and Kenny (2000) study the more physical side of alcohol effects. The researchers compared those who drank alcohol with those who were given injections of alcohol in order to study blood alcohol concentration levels. The researchers found that both methods of administering alcohol resulted in an inhibited ability to react using psychomotor skills. Furthermore, the authors found that these tests produced conditions similar to those that one would encounter in driving and other real-life tasks. Thus, the researchers concluded that, at different blood alcohol content levels, the use of psychomotor skills, which includes reaction times, were different (Grant, Millar, and Kenny 2000, p.405-406)

Thus, reaction times in those who are under the influence of alcohol are directly connected with blood alcohol content. But blood alcohol content is different in each person. According to Bigsby (nd), people process alcohol at different levels, and several factors can mitigate the processing of alcohol. For instance, having food in one's stomach can increase the processing of alcohol, while mixing alcohol with other beverages can either increase or decrease the rate of absorption based on the beverage. Gender, body fat, and body weight are physical factors in determining how fast alcohol is processed, while decisions about drinking, mood, and alcohol dependence are psychological factors that affect the absorption of alcohol (Bigsby nd).