Effects of low alcohol consumption on visual evoked potential, visual field and visual contrast sensitivity.

PURPOSE: We studied changes in the vision of 16 people after consumption of a small quantity of alcohol, at a blood alcohol level (BAL) of 0.57 g/kg.

METHODS

We studied visual contrast sensitivity (VCS) using Vistech VCTS 6500, visual evoked potential (VEP) by checked pattern stimulations and the peripheral visual field (PVF) with a perimetric automatic Humphrey. We first carried out the tests on sober people and then on individuals with a BAL of 0.57 g/kg.

RESULTS

Alcohol consumption caused no significant difference in performance for these 3 tests. However, at a BAL of 0.57 g/kg there was a decrease in cerebral function, as shown by an increase in the number of mistakes made in the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test.

CONCLUSION

These results suggest that for a low blood alcohol level, visual performance is less affected by the visual changes than by alteration in brain functions.