COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL AND SLEEPINESS ON SIMPLE REACTION TIME PERFORMANCE: ENHANCED HABITUATION AS A COMMON PROCESS

This paper examines the extent to which the performance-impairing effects of alcohol and sleepiness have been evaluated as a function of time-on-task to determine the relevance of accelerated habituation in the bahavioral deficits observed. It is concluded that despite large research literatures on the effects of alcohol and sleepiness on performance, the relevance of habituation to driving, and the need to know whether alcohol and sleepiness potentiate the effects of each other, very little work has evaluated performance as a function of time-on-task. What has been done using sustained simple reaction time (SRT) suggests that at high doses both alcohol and sleep loss accelerate whether the two processes interact. We conclude by suggesting that consideration of the role of habituation in the behavioral effects of alcohol and sleepiness requires formulations based on the interaction between the impaired driver and the environment.

• Corporate Authors:

  Brain Information Service

  California University, Center for Health Science
  Los Angeles, CA  United States  90024
• Authors:
  • DINGES, D F
  • Kribbs, N B
• Publication Date: 1990-3

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 329-339
• Serial:
  • ALCOHOL, DRUGS AND DRIVING
  • Volume: 5/6
  • Issue Number: 4/1

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Alcoholic beverages; Behavior; Driver performance; Drivers; Impaired drivers; Personnel performance; Reaction time; Sleep
• Old TRIS Terms: Driver impairment
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00496384
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 31 1990 12:00AM