Interaction of Noise with Alcohol on a Task of Sustained Attention

Résumé du livre

A 30-min. 5-choice serial response test was carried out at six possible combinations of alcohol at zero, 0.20% and 0.45% concentrations in the bloodstream with quiet (70 db) and continuous white noise (100 db) conditions. Speed of responding appeared to be significantly decreased by noise, but not by alcohol; there was no observed interaction between the two stressors in this aspect of performance. However, a clear interaction was observed in accuracy, the error rate increasing with alcohol under quiet conditions, and decreasing under noise conditions, in such a way that the separate effects of the two stressors were effectively cancelled out when administered in combination. The results are interpreted as supporting the view that noise functions as an arouser while alcohol, in its physiological role as a cortical depressant, acts in the opposite direction.