ERPs are just beginning to be used to assay binge drinking. A facial discrimination task yielded P300 amplitudes that were smaller for adolescents exposed to alcohol (i.e., ≥5 drinks per occasion), with a positive family history for alcohol dependence acting as a significant covariate. Further, P300 latency was decreased for alcohol and drug-exposed young adults in the absence of an alcohol challenge relative to control participants (Ehlers et al., 2007). Recent ERP studies suggest that high-binge compared with low-binge college student groups can be differentiated with tasks requiring strong visual stimulus processing: P300 amplitude tends to be smaller for the high- compared with the low-binge groups, although the quantity and frequency of alcohol intake that produces these effects are still unclear (Courtney & Polich, 2008).
