Intoxication Will Slow Down Your Reaction Time

Intoxication Will Slow Down Your Reaction Time

The experiment tests how long it takes the brain to translate visual

information (falling ruler) into your voluntary (or conscious) motor

commands and actions (grasping finger movements) that lead to the

ruler being caught. The shorter the time, the faster your reactions.

That’s if you were paying attention in the first place! Indeed

practice specifically affects the ‘associative centers’ in the brain,

so that you can respond faster to what’s happening in your visual

world. The flow of information along the ‘visual’ and ‘motor’ nerve

pathways is relatively constant even with lots of practice.

ALCOHOL CONSUMTION

==================

Alcohol is classified as a depressant because it slows down the

central nervous system, causing a decrease in motor coordination,

reaction time and intellectual performance. At high doses, the

respiratory system slows down drastically and can cause a coma or

death.

Alcohol can be taken up by any body surface but is most efficiently

taken up as it is usually consumed; after drinking an alcoholic

beverage. Alcohol is absorbed over almost the entire length of the

digestive tract. Absorption from the mouth and oesophagus (canal

between mouth and stomach) is minimal. Ethanol absorption from the

stomach may vary between 10 and 30 %. The remainder of the ethanol is

absorbed from the duodenum and small intestine. Overall, more than 90%

of all alcohol consumed is absorbed, irrespective of the presence of

food in the stomach. Uptake is slowed down in the presence of food and

uptake is faster-- when alcohol concentrations are higher.

After uptake a...

... middle of paper ...

... results I think

that I would like to investigate what other effects alcohol has on the

body. Such as does it affect heart rate, etc. or the other root I

could take is to investigate what other things effect someone’s

reaction time, such as drugs and caffeine. Another interesting study

which I would like to investigate further is to do an investigation

similar to this but give each participant the same amount of alcohol

but then change it so one participant hasn’t eaten anything and then

that each of my other participants have eaten the same thing but at

different times throughout the day, and see if this has any effect on

how the body absorbs the alcohol after food consumption. Then this

could be modified by giving participants different types of food. For

example bread. Because this is mend to absorb alcohol quicker.