Effects of Ethanol on Performance - Essay Example

Effects of Ethanol on Performance and their Relationship to Breath Concentration Lecturer Introduction In the European culture, the consumption of alcohol (Ethanol) has been socially accepted and is classified as a central nervous system depressant. It mode of action is by reducing the brain inhibitory processes, and it results in depression of the body systems at higher doses. Other systems associated with ethanol drug utilization include disturbed motor process and disorganized mental processes. According to Zakhari (2006), increased alcohol levels in the body system are associated with a decreased psychomotor performance. Alcohol consumption is referred to as a “pharmacological hand-grenade” as a result of it widespread effects on the organ system. It alters the membrane proteins function thus exerting its effects. The central nervous system is the body system mostly affected by alcohol consumption. The degree at which the body is affected is directly proportion to the blood alcohol concentration. After ingestion, it passes through the stomach to the intestines where it is absorbed rapidly and distributed to the blood stream. However, due to its rapid distribution, it can affect the CNS even under small amounts. As the concentration rises, an individual response decreases markedly causing unsteady gait, coordination and slurred speech. With very high ethanol concentration, the individual can become comatose causing death (Messing 2014, 724). Quite, on the contrary, every human body is in a process of continuously producing alcohol referred to as endogenous ethanol production. Human living cells cannot exist without the presence of alcohol but over consumption of alcohol produces harmful effects in the body (Guerri & Pascual 2010, 17). The experiment conducted has an aim of investigating the effects of ethanol on individual performance as well as determining the relationship between breath alcohol concentrations and performance deficits. Ethanol drug will be taken orally by mouth in the form of vodka mixed with orange juice, and a control group will be involved who will be given only orange juice without any ethanol in it. Aims of the study To acquaint students with; 1. The ability of non-prescription drugs to produce CNS effects. 2. The ability of drugs to permeate the body 3. The limitations of designing controlled clinical trials Objectives of the study 1. To investigate effects of ethanol on some aspects of human performance, 2. To correlate effects, including motor co-ordination, with drug levels in the body Methodology For the study, the whole class was involved in participation by one way or the other. Half of the class were involved in alcohol consumption while the other half acted as the control group. Participants were requested to only take a light meal and to avoid alcohol consumption before the practical. Participants were healthy, had not consumed any alcohol substance for 24 hours before the experiment and were not under any medication. Those who were not willing to take part in the study and never met the study’s criteria acted as observers. Ethanol administration Ethanol was prepared in a 15% concentration in orange juice ready for consumption. The ethanol was obtained from commercially available vodka and a dosage of 400mg/kg administered in 70 kg subjects with a total of 28g of ethanol. The dosage provided a good concentration of alcohol in the body system and was equivalent to two pints of bear thus appropriate for the experiment. Due to the large number of students in the class, participants to take part in the study were randomly selected on a double blind basis where neither the participants nor the observers knew the identity of the beverages. However, the supervisors coded the drinks and were in possession of the codes. Inclusion criteria All the participants who volunteered and consented to take part in the study and met the study’s criteria Exclusion criteria Members who never volunteered to take part in the study and those who had medical conditions that contraindicated the consumption of alcohol. In addition, members who were taking medications that contraindicated alcohol consumption. Ethical considerations Before the study was, conducted permission was sought from the University Ethics Committee who approved the practical as a brand 1 practical. An informed consent was sought from the participants before taking part in the study where they signed the consent form. Participants were treated with respect and dignity and confidentiality was guaranteed. The results of the study were communicated to the study participants after completion of the study. Tests performed Supervisors were educated on how to make the tests before the experiment to enhance efficiency. The following tests were conducted; Psychological Test One proper measurement of the psychological performance was conducted before drug administration on both groups. Afterwards, the psychological testing was to be repeated at a 20 minutes interval for an overall of 80 minutes. Three psychological test were done A (drowsy-alert), B (relaxed-tense) and C (clumsy- well coordinated) were score were given along each scale corresponding how the participants felt in regards to the distance measured from the left hand side. Every scale was assessed independently. Digit Symbol Substitution Test The test involved substituting symbols for digits in regards to the codes given in the box at the top of the page. The test lasted for 90 seconds during which participants were involved in converting as many digits as they would work from left to line along the lines. The scores were awarded according to the correct substitutions that were made in the 90 seconds and entered in table as illustrated in the results. Visual motor coordination It entailed two tests i.e. Reaction times Test and Pursuit Test 1.) Reaction time Test It involved a computer program that run on some of the lab computers. The task required the subjects to respond to green dots that appeared randomly on the grid and clicking on them. Another green dot appeared in another part of the grid. After 30 seconds, the computer displayed the number of green dots that the subject had correctly responded to. To enhance efficiency in the test, supervisors and participants practiced before taking the first score. 2.) Pursuit Test The test involved two monitoring pursuit machines. A new automated machine that switched on and off after 20 seconds automatically displayed the participants scores at the end. However, for the older machine, it required speed to be set to 40 RPM. The participants tried holding the pointer in contact with the centre of the target for 20 seconds that were timed carefully by the observer using a similar clock for all the estimations. To ensure accuracy of the test, participants used the same machine for each pursuit test. Breath samples Breath alcohol samples were measured before each group of psychological test using the Lion Alcolmeter S-D2 together with the age, weight and usual alcohol consumption. Results Graph 1: Mean reaction scores for test and control subjects Discussion Test performed Mean reaction score (non-Alcoholics) Mean reaction score (Alcoholics) Initial test 38 37.5 20 mins 39.5 33.5 40 mins 36 37.5 60 mins 40 40 80 mins 40 40 The test statistic for the paired sample t-test is given by: t = Σdifferences / √((NΣdifferences2 - (Σdifferences)2) / (N-1)). Table 1: Results for t-Test: Paired Two Sample for Means   Variable 1 Variable 2 Mean 37.7 38.7 Variance 7.075 2.95 Observations 5 5 Pearson Correlation 0.180584 Hypothesized Mean Difference 0 df 4 t Stat 0.77267 P(T Read More