In addition to serving as a marker, ERP data may elucidate mechanisms of alcohol’s effects on the nervous system. For example, COA’s tend to respond with low P3 amplitudes to both significant and nonsignificant stimuli. This undifferentiated mode of responding reflects an inefficiency in brain processing. In healthy people, the brain constructs a memory template of nonsignificant stimuli against which to compare each new stimulus. COA’s at risk, however, evaluate each incoming stimulus anew.
