Alcohol Impairs More Than Motor Skills

饮酒可以损害机动技能和认知功能，但随着您清醒的，您可以以更快的速度重新获得运动技能，以便您做认知功能，这可能会给您一个虚假的安全感。

As you begin to recover from a bout of heavy drinking, and your blood-alcohol content begins to decrease, you regain some of your motor skills—such as those needed to operate a vehicle - faster than you regain the ability to identify and respond to information.

因此，您可能能够进行身体反应 - 例如，另一辆车突然在您的前面停止在您的前面 - 尽可能快地饮酒，但您可能会使不正确的响应 - 例如按下加速器而不是按下加速器而不是按下加速器而不是按下加速器而不是按下加速器而不是休息。

Processing Information

处理信息有三个阶段：

• 刺激识别/感知
• Response selection/cognition
• 响应执行/电机进程

When you areimpaired by alcohol您处理信息的能力会减慢。

Slowing of Information Processing

“鉴于大多数任务需要一些信息处理，并且酒精是最常用的娱乐药物之一，我们觉得更彻底地检查酒精如何disrupts the stream of information processingwas warranted," said Tom A. Schweizer, of Rotman Research Institute in Toronto and first author of the study. "What is not clear from earlier studies is whether this disruption is attributable to a specific slowing of one stage – that is, perceptual, cognitive or motor—or a slowing of all stages within the information-processing stream.

“Also, few studies have looked specifically at the differential effects of alcohol on cognitive functioning during rising and decliningblood alcohol concentrations（BACS），“他说。”这项研究的目标之一是解决认知功能是否像在升起和下降期间的电机运作的行为。“

延迟回应

Schweizer和他的同事们使用心理耐火期（PRP）范式检查了34名健康的男性社交饮酒者。

“The PRP paradigm tests the limits of a person's ability to process information when two tasks are completed in rapid succession," said Schweizer. "PRP refers to the delay in processing the information from a second task stimulus when it closely follows the first task stimulus. Specifically, if alcohol disrupts the cognitive stage of information processing, a greater delay in responding—meaning an increase in reaction time—to the second task should be observed."

Schweizer的研究检测了两组17名参与者，其中一个是足够的酒精，以在0.10时达到血液酒精含量。他们的反应时间被记录在基线，而他们的BAC在上升和下降。

显着更大的错误

The experiment's findings included:

• 在BAC曲线的上升阶段期间，醇组显着误差
• 在BAC曲线的下降阶段继续误差
• 酒精集团的发展rated longer reaction times during rising BACs
• 当BAC下降时，响应时间返回基线水平

Cognitive Skills Recover More Slowly

“Our findings indicate that the motor component of information processing recovers during declining BACs, but it appears that the cognitive effects of the drug linger well after motor performance is back to drug-free levels," said Schweizer. "The reduction in motor impairment as BACs decrease could create the illusion of complete sobriety and prompt the undertaking of activities requiring cognitive processes that are still greatly impaired."

“One could envision a scenario in which the brake lights on the car ahead suddenly come on," he said. "To avoid a collision, a driver must swiftly remove his or her foot from the gas and depress the brake. A driver whose BACs are decreasing may react as swiftly as normal but may respond incorrectly by slamming on the accelerator rather than the brake. The speed of response is the same, but the driver has just made a costly error."

Speed and Accuracy Should Be Tested

Schweizer said this research highlights the importance of measuring both speed and accuracy of cognitive performance when investigating the酒精中毒的影响。

“结果还突出了测试血液酒精曲线上各点的酒精影响的重要性，”他说。“取决于您在BAC曲线上测试的位置，您可以获得大量不同的结果。这对于挖掘认知功能的任务尤其如此。”

增加事故风险

The researchers suggested that drinkers take extra caution when attempting to gauge their own recovery from the effects of acute alcohol intoxication.

“电机与认知恢复之间的不匹配......创造了对事故风险产生影响的特殊危险。从饮用集中恢复后即将驾驶车辆的饮酒者可能比积极饮酒所造成的更危险，因为他们错误地假设他们'回复。“