Alcohol consumption has been shown to increase the number of errors in tasks that require a high degree of cognitive control, such as a go/no-go task. The alcohol-related decline in performance may be related to difficulties in maintaining attention on the task at hand and/or deficits in inhibiting a prepotent response. To test these two accounts, we investigated the effects of alcohol on stimulus- and response-locked evoked potentials recorded during a go/no-go task that involved the withholding of key presses to rare targets. All participants performed the task prior to drinking and were then assigned randomly to either a control, low-dose, or moderate-dose treatment. Both doses of alcohol increased the number of errors relative to alcohol-free performance. Success in withholding a prepotent response was associated with an early-enhanced stimulus-locked negativity at inferior parietal sites, which was delayed when participants failed to inhibit the motor command. Moreover, low and moderate doses of alcohol reduced N170 and P3 amplitudes during go, no-go, and error trials. In comparison with the correct responses, errors generated large response-locked negative (Ne) and positive (Pe) waves at central sites. Both doses of alcohol reduced the Ne amplitude whereas the Pe amplitude decreased only after moderate doses of alcohol. These results are consistent with the interpretation that behavioral disinhibition following alcohol consumption involved alcohol-induced deficits in maintaining and allocating attention thereby affecting the processing of incoming stimuli and the recognition that an errant response has been made.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cogbrainres.2005.09.009 | DOI Listing |
Alzheimers Dement
December 2024
University College London, London, United Kingdom.
Background: Studies that report an association between anticholinergic medications and dementia often suffer from confounding by indication and rarely consider gender effects. We estimated the association between recurrent prescriptions for anticholinergic overactive bladder (OAB) medications and incident dementia, separately in men and women.
Method: We studied patients aged ≥50 years first prescribed an anticholinergic OAB drug (e.
J Psychoactive Drugs
January 2025
Department of Psychology, The University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada.
The increasing acceptance of cannabis use, and policy changes in several jurisdictions has led researchers and public health experts to call for a standard cannabis dose. Standard dosing units are useful tools for regulation, substance use guidelines, data collection, consistency of research, as a means of communicating low-risk recommendations and dose-related effects, and for self-monitoring. Efforts to standardize cannabis dose have focused on cannabinoid content without considering tolerance or mode.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Anesthesiol
January 2025
Department of Anaesthesia, Intensive care and Pain management, National Cancer Institute, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Purpose: Septic shock is a common threat, and is the primary cause of death in almost all critical care units. Mortality of septic shock remains exceedingly high. The early use of methylene blue (MB) in different doses as adjunctive to vasopressors has promising results.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlcohol Clin Exp Res (Hoboken)
January 2025
Department of Psychiatry, The Yale Stress Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Background: Chronic alcohol consumption in alcohol use disorder (AUD) is associated with autonomic nervous system dysregulation, increasing cardiovascular risk, and high alcohol cravings. Heart rate variability (HRV), a marker of autonomic nervous system responsiveness to stressors, may mediate alcohol's impact on the cardiovascular system. While pregnenolone (PREG) has been shown to normalize heart rate and blood pressure in individuals with AUD, its effects on sympathetic and parasympathetic components of HRV and related alcohol craving are not known.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNutrients
December 2024
Department of Medicine and Health Sciences "V.Tiberio", University of Molise, 86100 Campobasso, Italy.
Menopause leads to a decline in estrogen levels, resulting in significant metabolic alterations that increase the risk of developing metabolic syndrome-a cluster of conditions including central obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. Traditional interventions such as hormone replacement therapy carry potential adverse effects, and lifestyle modifications alone may not suffice for all women. This review explores the potential role of palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), an endogenous fatty acid amide, in managing metabolic syndrome during the postmenopausal period.
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