Department of Psychological Science, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights, Kentucky.
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky.
Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2018 Jan;42(1):144-152. doi: 10.1111/acer.13521. Epub 2017 Nov 7.
The acute administration of alcohol reliably impairs balance and motor coordination. While it is common for consumers to ingest alcohol with other stimulant drugs (e.g., caffeine, nicotine), little is known whether prototypical alcohol-induced balance impairments are altered by stimulant drugs. The purpose of this study was to examine whether the coadministration of a high-caffeine energy drink with alcohol can antagonize expected alcohol-induced increases in body sway.
Sixteen social drinkers (of equal gender) participated in 4 separate double-blind dose administration sessions that involved consumption of alcohol and energy drinks, alone and in combination. Following dose administration, participants completed automated assessments of balance stability (both eyes open and eyes closed) measured using the Biosway Portable Balance System. Participants completed several subjective measures including self-reported ratings of sedation, stimulation, fatigue, and impairment. Blood pressure and pulse rate were recorded repeatedly.
The acute administration of alcohol increased body sway, and the coadministration of energy drinks antagonized this impairment. When participants closed their eyes, alcohol-induced body sway was similar whether or not energy drinks were ingested. While alcohol administration increased ratings of sedation and fatigue, energy drink administration increased ratings of stimulation and reduced ratings of fatigue. Modest increases in systolic and diastolic blood pressure following energy drink administration were also observed.
Visual assessment of balance impairment is frequently used to indicate that an individual has consumed too much alcohol (e.g., as part of police-standardized field sobriety testing or by a bartender assessing when someone should no longer be served more alcohol). The current findings suggest that energy drinks can antagonize alcohol-induced increases in body sway, indicating that future work is needed to determine whether this observation regarding neuromotor functioning applies to alcohol in combination with all types of stimulant drugs.
急性酒精摄入会可靠地损害平衡和运动协调能力。虽然消费者经常同时摄入酒精和其他兴奋剂药物（例如咖啡因、尼古丁），但对于兴奋剂药物是否会改变典型的酒精引起的平衡障碍知之甚少。本研究的目的是检验高咖啡因能量饮料与酒精同时摄入是否能拮抗预期的酒精引起的身体晃动增加。
16 名社交饮酒者（性别均等）参与了 4 次单独的双盲剂量给药试验，涉及单独和联合使用酒精和能量饮料。给药后，参与者使用 Biosway 便携式平衡系统完成了对平衡稳定性的自动评估（睁眼和闭眼）。参与者完成了几项主观测量，包括自我报告的镇静、刺激、疲劳和障碍评分。反复记录血压和脉搏率。
急性酒精摄入增加了身体晃动，而能量饮料的共同摄入拮抗了这种损害。当参与者闭上眼睛时，无论是否摄入能量饮料，酒精引起的身体晃动都相似。虽然酒精摄入会增加镇静和疲劳评分，但能量饮料摄入会增加刺激评分并降低疲劳评分。观察到能量饮料给药后收缩压和舒张压适度升高。
平衡障碍的视觉评估常用于表明个体摄入了过多的酒精（例如，作为警察标准化现场清醒测试的一部分，或由调酒师评估某人是否不应再继续饮酒）。目前的研究结果表明，能量饮料可以拮抗酒精引起的身体晃动增加，表明需要进一步研究以确定这种关于神经运动功能的观察结果是否适用于与所有类型的兴奋剂药物联合使用的酒精。
