Another limitation is the use of intravenous infusion of alcohol rather than oral ingestion. That limitation is minimal in the context of alcohol effects on brain function, per se. In addition, the IV infusion eliminates an unknown degree of individual variability in responses attributable due to taste, odor, and beverage preference in oral studies. It also virtually eliminates the substantial variation in the trajectories of brain exposure attributable to uncontrollable alcohol absorption kinetics (Ramchandani et al., 2006) that are inherent in all oral studies; oral administration cannot achieve and sustain a predetermined level of BrAC because of those absorption kinetics.
