ABSTRACT
Cognitive event-related potentials (ERPs) and quantified EEG (qEEG) can provide sensitive measures of alcohol-related changes in central nervous system functioning. Digitization of the EEG permits reduction of data gathered from several channels over time, as well as Fourier, topographical and statistical analyses of the effects of drugs on human brain electrical activity. ERPs are realtime indices of information processing in the brain, and are sensitive to the subtle cognitive effects of psychotropic drugs. These techniques would seem to be extremely useful in measuring the acute and chronic effects of social drinking. However, there has been little direct investigation of social drinking using ERPs or qEEG. We have knowledge from several indirect sources regarding the effects of social drinking on electrophysiological measures: studies of the acute effects of alcohol performed on social drinkers; studies examining the effects of chronic alcoholism in which social drinkers are used as controls, and ERP and qEEG studies of the hereditary aspects of alcohol intoxication among social drinkers. This chapter will draw from studies in each of these areas.
