Alcohol effects on cognitive domains such as semantic and mnemonic processes have not been studied extensively; however, one study showed that alcohol ingestion attenuated the temporoparietal negative potential (N180), revealing an effect of a moderately low alcohol dose on early prelexical stage of verbal processing (Marinkovic et al., 2004). Alcohol significantly increased the difficulty of semantic access and integration, as reflected in its effect on later potentials – larger N450 amplitude and longer P580 latency. This effect was particularly prominent in arousal-related trials, suggesting that alcohol impairs processes that modulate cognitive functioning related to semantic and integration systems rather than via memory processes.
