PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R H Hammersley

Publications and source records attributed to R H Hammersley.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Is residual impairment after alcohol an effect of repeated performance?

BACKGROUND: The study examines the residual impairment of performance due to alcohol on the descending limb of the blood alcohol curve. The occurrence of residual impairment at low or zero levels of blood alcohol is well established but its cause is uncertain. It is hypothesized that residual impairment may be due in part to the methodological procedure of repeated performance testing in the post-ingestion period. METHODS: There were 80 volunteers randomly allocated to one of four treatment conditions: a) alcohol and repeated performance (A-R) where psychomotor tasks were performed at 20-min interval for 2 h post ingestion; b) alcohol and double performance (A-D) where tasks were performed only at 1 h and 2 h from ingestion; c) placebo and repeated performance (P-R); and d) placebo and double performance (P-D). Alcohol was administered as vodka to achieve a peak blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of approximately 80 mg per 100 ml. Performance effects were assessed by a dual task of primary pursuit tracking and secondary visual reaction time, and a visual sustained attention task. RESULTS: Alcohol caused significant impairment of secondary reaction time, the effect being greatest at peak BAC. Sustained attention was also impaired by alcohol but the effect just missed significance. Repeated performance conditions were associated with significantly greater impairment of secondary reaction time and sustained attention when compared with double performance conditions. The factor of performance condition did not, however, interact with that of alcohol. CONCLUSIONS: The monotony and boredom that may be associated with repeated performance do not contribute to residual alcohol impairment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Is salivary flow related to personality?

Studies conducted in the 1960s proposed that stimulated salivary flow was negatively correlated with the personality trait of introversion-extraversion such that introverted individuals were supposed to salivate more strongly to lemon-juice stimulation than were extraverts. The relationship was re-examined in the present study in light of more recent but inconsistent findings. A sample of 36 male and female volunteers showed no significant relationship between stimulated salivary flow and extraversion. Nor was flow related to State or Trait anxiety according to Spielberger's anxiety inventory, or to CNS activation as assessed by an objective electronic test. It was concluded that there was no evidence to relate stimulated salivary flow rates to personality in volunteers selected from a non-psychiatric population.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Reduction of alcohol-induced performance impairment by prior ingestion of food.

The study examined the effectiveness of eating a meal prior to drinking alcohol as a means of reducing both peak blood alcohol level (BAL) and alcohol-induced performance impairment. In a separate-groups design, 133 male volunteers either fasted or received a standard meal of fixed calorific value and composition. Alcohol was then administered as placebo or at doses to achieve a BAL of 0, 20, 40 or 80 mg/100 ml. Subjects performed a dual task of primary tracking and secondary reaction time, short-term memory, five-choice reaction time and critical flicker fusion. Alcohol significantly impaired dual task performance but impairment was significantly reduced for those subjects who had eaten beforehand. BAL was also significantly lower in such subjects. It was concluded that prior ingestion of food might reduce the adverse effects of alcoholic intoxication, although performance remained impaired relative to the sober state.

Adolescent↗