The fast-beta spectral power yielded a significant binge group main effect, and post-hoc assessment found that the high-binge group exhibited greater mean spectral power than the non-binge group (15.1 vs. 13.9 μV2, p = 0.03), with a marginal difference obtained between high- and low-binge drinkers (15.1 vs. 14.2 μV2, p = 0.10). These findings are consistent with those from previous studies reporting that alcoholics exhibit increased EEG spectral power in the beta band [10,11,36]. High-binge drinkers who are not alcohol-dependent may therefore exhibit EEG power variation predictive of future alcohol dependency. In this context, it is reasonable to suggest that high-binge drinkers may possess an overactive CNS and therefore consume greater quantities of alcohol at any one sitting to suppress their CNS activity [14]. Even though the participants of the present study were not alcohol dependent and free from alcohol dependency in their family, the fast-beta band results suggest that they may be at-risk for future alcohol dependency.
