Social drinking and cognitive function: a review.

Six different studies of social drinkers drawn from California, Oklahoma, Massachusetts and Michigan, using different methodologies, indicate a negative association between social drinking (specifically quantity of alcohol consumed per drinking occasion) and sober cognitive performance. This relationship prevails not only in men but also in women. The decrements in performance are greater in older than in younger individuals, and they are more evident in heavy than in light social drinkers. These findings do not necessarily indicate, albeit they do suggest, a causal link between social drinking and impairments in cognitive functioning. Additional questions raised in this review must be answered before a cause and effect relationship is established between social drinking and cognitive dysfunction.