Time-of-day effects of ethanol consumption on EEG topography and cognitive event-related potential in adult males

Time-of-day effects of ethanol consumption on EEG topography and cognitive event-related potential in adult males were studied. Ethanol (0.5 g/kg) or control drink was orally administered to nine healthy males at 10:00 and 18:00. The alpha 2 amplitude was significantly lower than that of the control at 0.5, 2.5 and 4.5 hours after ethanol consumption in the morning. These effects were observed in the left hemisphere and were only found after consumption in the morning. The subjectively rated attention was significantly lower than that of the control at 0.5 and 2.5 hours after ethanol consumption in the morning and at 0.5 hours after ethanol consumption in the evening. In contrast, the search speed of serial search task and P300 amplitude was significantly lower than that of the control at 2.5 hours after ethanol consumption in the evening. These results demonstrate that effects of ethanol are dependent on time-of-day of consumption. Ethanol consumption significantly lowered the alpha 2 amplitude when consumed in the morning, and lowered P300 amplitude when consumed in the evening.