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Working memory over a six-year period in young binge drinkers
C Carbia1, F Cadaveira1, E López-Caneda2
1Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.)
|June 11, 2017
Summary
Stable binge drinking (BD) in adolescents is linked to lasting working memory (WM) deficits, particularly perseveration errors. Stopping BD may allow for partial recovery of WM function.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Public Health
Background:
- Adolescence is a critical period for brain development, making individuals vulnerable to alcohol's neurotoxic effects.
- Alcohol use disorders and binge drinking (BD) in young people are associated with working memory (WM) deficits.
- The prefrontal cortex, crucial for WM, matures late, suggesting potential for alcohol-related cognitive impairment during this period.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the longitudinal relationship between binge drinking trajectories and working memory (WM) performance in university students.
- To examine how different patterns of binge drinking (stable, cessation, non-drinking) affect cognitive functions over time.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study following 155 first-year university students for 6 years.
- Classification of participants into stable non-binge drinkers (non-BDs), stable binge drinkers (BDs), and ex-binge drinkers (ex-BDs) using the AUDIT.
- Assessment of working memory (WM) using the Self-Ordered Pointing Task and analysis with generalized linear mixed models.
Main Results:
- Stable BDs exhibited significantly more perseverative errors and a lower WM span in challenging tasks compared to stable non-BDs.
- While WM span showed partial improvement over time in stable BDs, perseveration errors remained consistently high.
- No significant differences in WM were observed between ex-BDs and non-BDs, suggesting potential for recovery after cessation.
Conclusions:
- Stable binge drinking is associated with persistent working memory deficits, including perseveration and reduced capacity, especially under demanding conditions.
- The observed partial improvement in WM span suggests a possible neuromaturational delay, while persistent perseveration may indicate neurotoxic effects or underlying traits.
- Cessation of binge drinking may lead to partial recovery of working memory functions, highlighting the importance of intervention.
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