The eyes have it: Alcohol‐induced eye movement impairment and perceived impairment in older adults with and without alcohol use disorder

While alcohol impaired older adults with AUD less than LD in terms of their ability to track a predictably moving object (i.e., smooth pursuit), both drinking groups were equally sensitive to alcohol-induced delays in reaction time, reductions in velocity, and deficits in accuracy to randomly appearing objects (i.e., saccade tasks). Thus, despite decades of chronic excessive drinking, older adults with AUD exhibited similar oculomotor tolerance on pro- and anti-saccade eye movements relative to their light-drinking counterparts. Given that these individuals also perceived less impairment during intoxication, they may be at risk for injury and harm when they engage in real-life drinking bouts.