Moreover, the possibility that post-error control recovery plays a role in determining alcohol’s effects on cognitive performance has not been investigated. Although post-error control adjustment is clearly impaired by alcohol (Bartholow et al., 2012; Ridderinkhof et al., 2002), it seems unlikely that control cannot be recovered. If so, we would expect alcohol-induced performance deficits to be much more pronounced than they generally are. Rather, it could be that post-error recovery of control simply takes longer than usual under the influence of alcohol. Evidence supporting this hypothesis could suggest new models of alcohol’s effects on problem behaviors (see Giancola, 2000; Lange, 2002), in which moment-to-moment fluctuations in control play a key role.
