Taken together, the behavioral and neurophysiological data from this study point to a sequence of events set in motion by errors that differentiate intoxicated from sober control performance. According to several theoretical models (Botvinick et al., 2001, 2004; Braver, 2012; Holroyd & Coles, 2002; Yeung et al., 2004), transient performance fluctuations are tracked by areas of medial prefrontal cortex, such as the ACC. Performance that does not meet current goals triggers activation of the ACC and neighboring structures, reflected in the amplitude of the ERN, ostensibly to alert other areas of prefrontal cortex that increased control is needed to maintain desired performance. Following alcohol consumption this alert is attenuated, which in theory results in inadequate signaling of neural structures involved in control implementation. The current data suggest that this inadequate signaling has implications for both conflict monitoring and performance adjustment processes, reflected in the amplitude of the N2 and FSW, respectively, and for behavioral performance as reflected in the magnitude of the response time CE. Indeed, the analyses showing that interactions between neural responses (especially the N2) and beverage group
