Abstract
The aim of this study was to assess contrast sensitivity for angular frequency stimuli as well as for sine-wave gratings in adults under the effect of acute ingestion of alcohol. We measured the contrast sensitivity function (CSF) for gratings of 0.25, 1.25, 2.5, 4, 10, and 20 cycles per degree of visual angle (cpd) as well as for angular frequency stimuli of 1, 2, 4, 24, 48, and 96 cycles/360°. Twenty adults free of ocular diseases, with normal or corrected-to-normal visual acuity, and no history of alcoholism were enrolled in two experimental groups: 1) no alcohol intake (control group) and 2) alcohol ingestion (experimental group). The average concentration of alcohol in the experimental group was set to about 0.08%. We used a paradigm involving a forced-choice method. Maximum sensitivity to contrast for sine-wave gratings in the two groups occurred at 4 cpd sine-wave gratings and at 24 and 48 cycles/360° for angular frequency stimuli. Significant changes in contrast sensitivity were observed after alcohol intake compared with the control condition at spatial frequency of 4 cpd and 1, 24, and 48 cycles/360° for angular frequency stimuli. Alcohol intake seems to affect the processing of sine-wave gratings at maximum sensitivity and at the low and high frequency ends for angular frequency stimuli, both under photopic luminance conditions.
Highlights
The literature on alcohol intake and systemic effects, mainly in the central nervous system (CNS), is extensive
The present study examined the visual perception of contrast using the contrast sensitivity function (CSF), which is a useful tool for assessing visual functions in visual disorders, neurological conditions and associated with substance use [2,25,26,27,28]
This study focused on basic issues related to processing of visual contrast and alcohol intake
Summary
The literature on alcohol intake and systemic effects, mainly in the central nervous system (CNS), is extensive. Drinking alcohol promotes loss or impairment in visual functions such as visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, motion processing, short-term visual memory, oculomotor mechanisms, and stereoscopic depth perception, there are some divergences among studies [3,4,5,6,7]. These differences may be due to methodological issues related to the perceptual aspects investigated, and the amount of alcohol or the manner in which it was administered. Among those is the suggestion that the effects of alcohol intake may result from depressant effects on the inhibitory control mechanisms and the action of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators, the dampening effect of alcohol on the GABAergic system (i.e., gammaaminobutyric acid) [7,8,9]
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