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Anxiety and explicit alcohol-related memory in problem drinkers
Martin Zack1, Tony Toneatto, Colin M MacLeod
1Clinical Neuroscience Section, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. martin_zack@camh.net
Addictive Behaviors
|July 18, 2002
Summary
Anxiety in alcoholics is linked to memory biases, specifically recalling alcohol concepts when feeling negative. This suggests anxiety influences how problem drinkers respond to alcohol cues, potentially increasing craving.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Addiction Research
Background:
- Anxiety is linked to increased alcohol craving after cue exposure in alcoholics.
- Cognitive theories suggest conscious processes drive craving in abstinent drinkers.
- The role of memory biases in anxiety-related alcohol craving requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the hypothesis that anxiety is associated with explicit memory biases.
- To investigate if these biases promote recall of alcohol concepts in response to negative affective cues.
Main Methods:
- Fifty-two outpatient problem drinkers participated.
- A cued recall task assessed memory for alcohol (ALC), negative (NEG), and neutral (NEU) concepts.
- Concepts were paired with NEG, ALC, and NEU cues during an incidental study phase.
Main Results:
- Higher anxiety correlated with increased recall of ALC targets when paired with NEG cues.
- State and trait anxiety were intercorrelated.
- Higher anxiety levels were associated with more frequent drinking in negative mood states.
Conclusions:
- Findings demonstrate a link between anxiety and alcohol-related memory.
- Explicit memory biases may contribute to heightened responses to alcohol stimuli in anxious problem drinkers.
- Anxiety may influence craving and expectancies related to alcohol consumption.