Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42132957›Full record

ArticlePsychopharmacology2026

A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial examining the dose-dependent effects of acute alcohol intoxication on neurocognitive performance.

Blair Aitken, Brook Shiferaw, Luke A Downey, Brooke Manning, Thomas Arkell, Michael G Lenné, Jonny Kuo, Amie C Hayley

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Article in Psychopharmacology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Blair AitkenCentre for Mental Health and Brain Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, 3122, Australia.
Brook ShiferawCentre for Mental Health and Brain Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, 3122, Australia.
Luke A DowneyCentre for Mental Health and Brain Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, 3122, Australia.
Brooke ManningCentre for Mental Health and Brain Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, 3122, Australia.
Thomas ArkellCentre for Mental Health and Brain Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, 3122, Australia.
Michael G LennéSeeing Machines Ltd, Fyshwick ACT, Australia.
Jonny KuoSeeing Machines Ltd, Fyshwick ACT, Australia.
Amie C HayleyCentre for Mental Health and Brain Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, VIC, 3122, Australia. ahayley@swin.edu.au.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

rationaleAcute alcohol intoxication impairs cognitive and motor control, elevating risk in safety-critical contexts. While blood alcohol concentration (BAC) quantifies exposure, it does not reflect real-time functional impairment. Mobile, performance-based assessments may offer scalable detection tools, but their sensitivity under controlled alcohol challenge requires further validation.

objectivesTo evaluate the sensitivity of a mobile cognitive assessment (DRUID®) to alcohol-induced impairment across low and moderate intoxication levels and examined objective cognitive performance and subjective intoxication within a unified framework.

methodsIn a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects trial, 30 healthy adults (33% female; aged 23-49 years) completed neurocognitive testing following placebo, low-dose alcohol (mean peak BAC 0.04%), and moderate-dose alcohol (mean peak BAC 0.07%). Cognitive performance was measured using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) and DRUID®, while subjective effects were assessed via the Brief Biphasic Alcohol Effects Scale and a single-item intoxication rating.

resultsModerate alcohol intoxication significantly impaired spatial working memory, sustained attention, and psychomotor control (all p < 0.05), and elevated DRUID® impairment scores at 130 min post-dose relative to placebo (p < 0.001). Low-dose alcohol increased subjective intoxication and sedation (both p < 0.001) without measurable cognitive impairment.

conclusionsModerate alcohol produced persistent neurocognitive deficits despite dissociation between subjective and objective measures. Findings support performance-based impairment models and highlight mobile cognitive tools such as DRUID® as practical candidates for real-time functional assessment in applied safety settings.

trial registrationACTRN12623000528651, 19/05/2023.

Indexed as

AlcoholExecutive functionNeurocognitive assessmentPsychomotor performanceRandomised controlled trial

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.