Study researchers investigated the effects of alcohol consumption on eye movement and perceived impairment in older adults with and without alcohol use disorder (AUD) to determine behavioral tolerance to alcohol-induced eye movement impairment in chronic excessive alcohol use compared with light drinkers. The findings demonstrate that alcohol impairs smooth pursuit performance in both groups, but those with AUD exhibit less impairment. However, both groups show similar deficits in prosaccade and antisaccade accuracy, latency, and velocity. The study suggests that patients with AUD believe they can 'hold their liquor' and perform well when inebriated, despite objective measures that show susceptibility to oculomotor impairment. The researchers posited that older adults with chronic AUD are likely prone to injury during real-life drinking bouts due to hindered ability to detect and respond to unexpected objects during intoxication.

Source: Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research