Investigations of resting EEG in binge drinkers have emerged in recent years, aided by a clear definition of binge drinking. In earlier studies, moderate drinkers showed greater spectral power and higher peak frequency in the beta (12–20 Hz) band when compared to low/social drinkers, suggesting that beta activity might index quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption (Ehlers et al. 1989, Ehlers and Schuckit, 1990). More recently, Courtney and Polich (2010) examined male and female non-binge drinkers, low-binge drinkers, and high-binge drinkers who had been drinking alcohol at their respective levels for an average of 3 years. The non- and low-binge drinkers exhibited less spectral power than the high-binge drinkers in the delta (0–4 Hz) and fast beta (20–35 Hz) bands. Although the causal relationship between binge drinking and increased fast beta power is unclear, the authors suggest that the alteration of fast beta activity in high-binge drinkers is similar to the EEG spectral pattern seen in alcoholics (Rangaswamy et al., 2002), and may be a biomarker for potential future AUDs, even in the absence of familial alcoholism.
