Effects of Alcohol on Simulated Driving

The Effects of Five Dosages of Ethanol on Simulated Driving Performance and Event-Related Potentials

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00477984

Enrollment

Registered

2007-05-24

Start date

2007-05-31

Completion date

2008-03-31

Last updated

2008-04-15

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Alcoholism

Keywords

Alcohol, Driving, Multitasking, ERP, social drinkers

Brief summary

Previous studies have shown that alcohol significantly impairs driving performance. Acute alcohol administration also has a detrimental effect on secondary task performance during dual-tasks. The present study will investigate the effects of five different dosages of ethanol (0,0.2, 0,5, 0,8 and 1,0 % BAC) on performance in a driving simulator. Steering performance and brain activity will be recorded in both single- and dual-task conditions.

Interventions

DRUGalcohol

alcohol(0.02%, 0.05%, 0.08% and 0.10%) and placebo

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

SINGLE (Subject)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

21 Years to 50 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* He/she is aged between 21-50 * Written informed consent * Right-handed * Normal static binocular acuity, corrected or uncorrected * Normal hearing * Social Drinker (average of 7 to 21 alcoholic drinks per week) * Possession of a drivers license * Be considered as reliable and mentally capable of adhering to the protocol.

Exclusion criteria

* Current drug use (positive urine drug screen on the presence of amphetamines (including MDMA), barbiturates, cannabinoids, benzodiazepines, cocaine, and opiates) * Positive urine pregnancy drug screen in women * Use of psychoactive medication * Positive alcohol breath test * Prior enrolment in the same study * Physical or mental illness * Excessive alcohol use (\>21 alcoholic drinks per week) * Excessive smoking (more than 10 cigarettes per day) * Intake of caffeine-containing beverages over 5 glasses per day

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Primary parameter of the steering simulator is the standard deviation of the car from the center of the road (steering error).	5 testdays

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Reaction speed after hearing the deviant target tone. Brain activity: ERPs of interest are the mismatch negativity (MMN), P3a, P3b, and reorienting negativity (RON)	5 testdays

Countries

Netherlands

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026