A second line of research has examined the effects of alcohol on impulsivity. Several studies have examined the effects of alcohol on impulsivity as measured by delay aversion (Poulos, Parker & Le 1998; Tomie et al. 1998; Evenden & Ryan 1999; Olmstead, Hellemans & Paine 2006). All used acute dosing procedures, with doses ranging from 0.25 to 1.8 g/kg, and the general consensus was that rats show heightened delay aversion following the ethanol treatment. Similarly, acute intragastric administration impairs performance in a differential reinforcement of low-rate (DRL) responding task that measures aspects of response inhibition and timing (Popke, Allen & Paule 2000). This impairment of DRL responding was observed at lower doses (1.5–3.0 g/kg) than other aspects of instrumental performance, and it was suggested that mechanisms underlying response inhibition may be particularly sensitive to the effects of acute alcohol (Popke et al. 2000). Alcohol also lowers response inhibition in several other experimental procedures, such as the Geller–Seifter conflict test and the elevated plus-maze. An anticonflict effect in these models may reflect behavioral disinhibition, but it may also be related to
