ACUTE AND CHRONIC ALCOHOL TOLERANCE IN HUMANS - EFFECTS OF DOSE AND CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF EXPOSURE

Male social drinkers received doses of either 0.75 or 1.0 g/kg body we ight of alcohol over 5 consecutive days. The beverage was divided into three equal drinks, and subjects performed an eye-hand coordination m otor task after each drink. The breath alcohol concentration (BAC) was assessed at each performance measurement period. Performance was also assessed when the BAC level on the descending limb of the BAC curve w as similar to each of the three BAC measurements on the ascending curv e. Each group developed chronic tolerance (comparing the daily postalc ohol performance with the daily prealcohol performance) by the 4th day of exposure. The development of a degree of acute tolerance (assessed by comparing the performance on the ascending and descending limbs of the BAC curve) was not observed consistently in the 1.0 g/kg dose gro up, but was seen in more than half of the subjects in the 0.75 g/kg do se group by the 4th and 5th day of exposure.