[Cerebral hemodynamics and executive functioning in patients with alcohol use disorders]

To study the cerebral hemodynamics and executive functioning in patients with alcohol use disorders.

We studied 58 patients with alcohol use disorders aged 30 to 55 years and 40 healthy controls. Rheoencephalography was used to detect cerebrovascular changes. Executive functioning was assessed using the Go-No-Go, Corsi, and Color Stroop tests.

Patients with alcohol use disorders have higher values of the tone of resistive vessels and medium - caliber arteries, as well as lower indicators of volumetric pulse blood filling and elastic properties of the main arteries in both right and left leads compared with the controls (p≤0.003). Patients with alcohol dependence had lower rates in all studied cognitive tests compared to the norm (p≤0.011). We also found statistically significant correlations between the studied parameters in patients with alcohol use disorders: a decrease in volumetric pulse blood filling correlated with impaired psychomotor response in the Go-No-Go task (errors on the Go signal) (rs=-0.36; p=0.048), as well as cognitive flexibility in the Stroop test (rs=-0.40; p=0.024).

Disturbances of the psychomotor reaction and cognitive flexibility in alcohol dependence are due to the regional changes (decrease) in cerebral blood flow, as well as to a decrease in the elasticity of the wall of cerebral vessels.