Ingestion of alcohol is well evidenced to alter behaviour and change aspects of psychology. For example, impairment of cognition required for divided attention tasks occurs at relatively low intake of alcohol. This may be the reason that alcohol is particularly damaging to driving ability even at low intakes, despite much higher intakes being required to impair reaction times. One aspect of this is the ability of alcohol to alter brain functions that in turn increase the propensity to undergo behaviour likely to increase alcohol intake further. Under normal circumstances, inhibitory control prevents behaviours that are self-damaging and detrimental to the individual. However, at doses of alcohol that are below the threshold for causing significant global impairment of cognitive performance, alcohol can increase automatic alcohol-related cognitions. In this way, alcohol can impair the executive function of inhibitory control, which is the ability to inhibit motor responses that are already initiated. This inhibitory control is a significant part of preventing impulsive behaviour, and therefore by reducing inhibitory control, alcohol can significantly increase impulsive behaviour. A blood alcohol content of only 0.06 %, produced by relatively modest intakes of alcohol can cause inhibition of inhibitory control, and the result of the downstream impulsivity may lead to a desire to seek further alcohol intakes, thus overriding the normal cognitive function that would prevent this behaviour. This is one of the strongest arguments that suggest that alcoholics should avoid alcohol completely if they wish to break their habit.
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