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Pitel AL, Rivier J, Beaunieux H, Vabret F, Desgranges B, Eustache F. Changes in the Episodic Memory and Executive Functions of Abstinent and Relapsed Alcoholics Over a 6-Month Period. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2009; 33:490-8. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2008.00859.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 107] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Müller-Oehring EM, Schulte T, Fama R, Pfefferbaum A, Sullivan EV. Global-local interference is related to callosal compromise in alcoholism: a behavior-DTI association study. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2008; 33:477-89. [PMID: 19120053 DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2008.00858.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Visuospatial ability is a multifactorial process commonly impaired in chronic alcoholism. Identification of which features of visuospatial processing are affected and which are spared in alcoholism, however, has not been clearly determined. We used a global-local paradigm to assess component processes of visuospatial ability and MR diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to examine whether alcoholism-related microstructural degradation of the corpus callosum contributes to disruption of selective lateralized visuospatial and attention processes. METHODS A hierarchical letter paradigm was devised, where large global letters were composed of small local letters. The task required identification of target letters among distractors presented at global, local, both, or neither level. Attention was either selectively directed to global or local levels or divided between levels. Participants were 18 detoxified chronic alcoholics and 22 age-matched healthy controls. DTI provided quantitative assessment of the integrity of corpus callosal white matter microstructure. RESULTS Alcoholics generally had longer reaction times than controls but obtained similar accuracy scores. Both groups processed local targets faster than global targets and showed interference from targets at the unattended level. Alcoholics exhibited moderate compromise in selectively attending to the global level when the global stimuli were composed of local targets. Such local interference was less with longer abstinence. Callosal microstructural integrity compromise predicted degree of interference from stimulus incongruency in the alcoholic group. This relationship was not observed for lateral or third ventricular volumes, which are measures of nonspecific cortical volume deficits. CONCLUSION Global-local feature perception was generally spared in abstinent chronic alcoholics, but impairments were observed when directing attention to global features and when global and local information interfered at stimulus or response levels. Furthermore, the interference-callosal integrity relationship in alcoholics indicates that compromised visuospatial functions include those requiring bilateral integration of information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva M Müller-Oehring
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305-5723, USA
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Barry D, Bates ME, Labouvie E. FAS and CFL forms of verbal fluency differ in difficulty: a meta-analytic study. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008; 15:97-106. [PMID: 18568601 DOI: 10.1080/09084280802083863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The Controlled Oral Word Association (COWA) Test is a brief and sensitive measure of executive cognitive dysfunction. There are two commonly used forms of the test, one using the letters F, A, and S, and the other using C, F, and L. This study examines the relative difficulty of the two forms using a meta-analytic approach that includes multiple samples of normal individuals. The effects of age, education, gender composition, exclusion criteria, and age of study are also examined. Results indicate that the CFL form of the test is more difficult and that age, education, and the use of strict exclusion criteria influence performance. Performance is more variable for the FAS form, and age and age of study influence performance variability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danielle Barry
- University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, Connecticut 06030, USA.
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Pombo S, Levy P, Bicho M, Ismail F, Cardoso JMN. Neuropsychological function and platelet monoamine oxidase activity levels in type I alcoholic patients. Alcohol Alcohol 2008; 43:423-30. [PMID: 18408241 DOI: 10.1093/alcalc/agn021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
AIMS To explore neuropsychological function in two differentiated patterns of platelet monoamine oxidase B (MAO B) activity in alcoholic patients. METHODS Neuropsychological examination and platelet MAO B activity extracted from blood were collected from 42 alcohol-dependent patients recruited in the alcoholism unit (NETER) of the Psychiatric Service of Santa Maria University Hospital. RESULTS Alcoholics presented significantly low levels of platelet MAO B activity, when compared with control subjects; platelet MAO B activity in alcoholics classified as "under average subgroup" showed significant lower scores in the Raven Progressive Matrix and higher scores in hostility dimension, when compared with platelet MAO B activity in "above average subgroup." CONCLUSIONS Results suggested platelet MAO B as a trait marker also to type I alcohol-dependent patients and the two observed associations between platelet MAO B activity with neurocognitive measures of executive functions (nonverbal reasoning) and psychopathological dimension such as hostility may support the notion about the effect of platelet MAO B activity in the further development of an impulsive cognitive style.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Pombo
- Psychiatric Service of Santa Maria General Hospital, Núcleo de Estudos e Tratamento do Etilo-Risco (NETER), Lisbon, Portugal.
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Saxton J, Morrow L. Toxic dementias. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2008; 89:851-862. [PMID: 18631800 DOI: 10.1016/s0072-9752(07)01274-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Judith Saxton
- University of Pittsburgh, Department of Neurology, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND To date, there is a wealth of literature describing the deleterious effects of active alcoholism on cognitive function. There is also a growing body of literature on the extent of cognitive recovery that can occur with abstinence. However, there is still a dearth of published findings on cognitive functioning in very long-term abstinence alcoholics, especially in the elderly population. METHODS The current study examines 91 elderly abstinent alcoholics (EAA) (49 men and 42 women) with an average age of 67.3 years, abstinent for an average of 14.8 years (range 0.5 to 45 years), and age and gender comparable light/nondrinking controls. The EAA group was divided into 3 subgroups: individuals that attained abstinence before age 50 years, between the ages 50 and 60 years, and after age 60 years. Attention, verbal fluency, abstraction/cognitive flexibility, psychomotor, immediate memory, delayed memory, reaction time, spatial processing, and auditory working memory were assessed. The AMNART and cranium size were used as estimates of brain reserve capacity, and the association of all variables with alcohol use measures was examined. RESULTS Overall, the EAA groups performed comparably to controls on the assessments of cognitive function. Only the abstinent in group before 50 years of age performed worse than controls, and this was only in the domain of auditory working memory. EAAs had larger craniums than their controls. This effect was strongest for those who drank the longest and had the shortest abstinence. Such individuals also performed better cognitively. CONCLUSIONS Our data showed that elderly alcoholics that drank late into life, but with at least 6 months abstinence can exhibit normal cognitive functioning. Selective survivorship and selection bias probably play a part in these findings. Cognitively healthier alcoholics, with more brain reserve capacity, may be more likely to live into their 60s, 70s, or 80s of age with relatively intact cognition, and to volunteer for studies such as this. Our results do not imply that all elderly alcoholics with long-term abstinence will attain normal cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Fein
- Neurobehavioral Research, Inc., Corte Madera, California 94925, and Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.
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Schottenbauer MA, Hommer D, Weingartner H. Memory Deficits Among Alcoholics: Performance on a Selective Reminding Task. AGING NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2007; 14:505-16. [PMID: 17828626 DOI: 10.1080/13825580600681305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
This article compared alcoholics and healthy controls on the Buschke Selective Reminding Task. Alcoholics demonstrated deficits in memory and learning when compared to healthy controls, even when controlling for age. Examination of the alcoholic sample initially showed that age predicted memory deficits; however, age was no longer a significant predictor once the number of years of heavy drinking was entered into the regression equation. Findings suggest a direct link or mechanism of action between alcohol use and memory impairments, above and beyond effects of age or education.
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Schrimsher GW, Parker JD, Burke RS. Relation between cognitive testing performance and pattern of substance use in males at treatment entry. Clin Neuropsychol 2007; 21:498-510. [PMID: 17455033 DOI: 10.1080/13803390600674441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
This study examined the frequency and pattern of cognitive impairment in individuals entering substance use disorder treatment and additionally examined the relation between pattern of cognitive impairment and type of substance(s) used: alcohol (n = 116), cocaine (n = 49), alcohol/cocaine (n = 76), and alcohol/multiple substance (n = 54). The Cognistat, a screening measure of cognitive functioning, and the Addiction Severity Index were given to male veterans at the time of entering 3- to 4-week residential/day drug treatment. The most prominent areas of impairment were memory (37% of the total sample) and similarities or abstract concept formation (21% of the total sample). Moderate or greater severity of impairment was noted on at least one Cognistat scale in 35% of the participants. Results indicated no significant differences in the patterns of cognitive domain impairment between groups based on type(s) of substances used at the time of entering treatment. Multiple substance use was significantly related to greater levels of psychiatric problems as identified by the Alcohol Severity Index. Given the rate of impairment in memory and verbal abstract reasoning noted, it is suggested that cognitive screening be a standard consideration in residential substance use disorder treatment to assist in treatment selection and delivery that is optimized to provide maximal benefit to patients.
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Rosenbloom MJ, Rohlfing T, O'Reilly AW, Sassoon SA, Pfefferbaum A, Sullivan EV. Improvement in memory and static balance with abstinence in alcoholic men and women: selective relations with change in brain structure. Psychiatry Res 2007; 155:91-102. [PMID: 17407808 PMCID: PMC1949491 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2006.12.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2006] [Revised: 12/21/2006] [Accepted: 12/26/2006] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
We investigated whether changes in memory or static balance in chronic alcoholics, occurring with abstinence or relapse, are associated with changes in lateral and fourth ventricular volume. Alcoholics meeting DSM-IV criteria for Alcohol Dependence (n=15) and non-alcoholic controls (n=26) were examined twice at a mean interval of 2 years with standard Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI), Wechsler Memory Scale-Revised (WMS-R) tests, an ataxia battery, and structural MRI. At study entry, alcoholics had been abstinent on average for over 4 months and achieved lower scores than controls on WASI General IQ Index, WMS-R General Memory Index, and the ataxia battery. The 10 alcoholics who maintained sobriety at retest did not differ at study entry in socio-demographic measures, alcohol use, or WASI and WMS-R summary scores from the five relapsers. At follow-up, abstainers improved more than controls on the WMS-R General Memory Index. Ataxia tended to improve in abstainers relative to controls. Associations were observed between memory and lateral ventricular volume change and between ataxia and fourth ventricular volume change in alcoholics but not in the controls. Both memory and ataxia can improve with sustained sobriety, and brain-behavior associations suggest selective brain structural substrates for the changes observed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret J. Rosenbloom
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA
- Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA
| | | | | | | | - Adolf Pfefferbaum
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA
- Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA
| | - Edith V. Sullivan
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA
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Durazzo TC, Rothlind JC, Gazdzinski S, Banys P, Meyerhoff DJ. Chronic Smoking Is Associated With Differential Neurocognitive Recovery in Abstinent Alcoholic Patients: A Preliminary Investigation. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2007; 31:1114-27. [PMID: 17451399 DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2007.00398.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Approximately 50 to 90% of individuals in North America seeking treatment for alcoholism are chronic smokers. A growing body of evidence suggests that chronic cigarette smokers show a pattern of neurocognitive dysfunction similar to that observed in alcoholic patients. However, previous studies investigating neurocognitive recovery in abstinent alcoholic patients did not specifically consider the potential effects of chronic cigarette smoking. METHODS This study comprehensively compared longitudinal neurocognitive changes over 6 to 9 months of abstinence among 13 nonsmoking recovering alcoholic patients (ALC) and 12 actively smoking ALC. The neurocognitive performance of the alcoholic groups was compared with nonsmoking light-drinking controls (nonsmoking LD). RESULTS Nonsmoking ALC exhibited a significantly greater magnitude of longitudinal improvement than smoking ALC on measures of cognitive efficiency, executive skills, visuospatial skills, and working memory. Both nonsmoking ALC and smoking ALC demonstrated equivalent improvement on auditory-verbal learning, auditory-verbal memory, and processing speed. Nonsmoking LD showed no significant changes in neurocognition over time. In cross-sectional comparisons at 6 to 9 months of abstinence, nonsmoking ALC were superior to smoking ALC on measures of auditory-verbal learning, auditory-verbal memory, cognitive efficiency, executive skills, processing speed, and working memory. The longitudinal and cross-sectional neurocognitive differences observed between nonsmoking and smoking ALC remained significant after covarying for group differences in education, estimated premorbid intelligence alcohol consumption, and other potentially confounding variables. In smoking ALC, greater smoking severity was inversely related to longitudinal improvement on multiple neurocognitive measures. CONCLUSIONS These preliminary results suggest that chronic smoking may modulate neurocognitive recovery in abstinent alcoholic patients. More generally, chronic smoking may impact neurocognition in other conditions where is it a prevalent behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy C Durazzo
- San Francisco Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Francisco, CA 94121, USA.
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Pitel AL, Beaunieux H, Witkowski T, Vabret F, Guillery-Girard B, Quinette P, Desgranges B, Eustache F. Genuine episodic memory deficits and executive dysfunctions in alcoholic subjects early in abstinence. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2007; 31:1169-78. [PMID: 17511749 PMCID: PMC2895973 DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2007.00418.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 146] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chronic alcoholism is known to impair episodic memory function, but the specific nature of this impairment is still unclear. Moreover, it has never been established whether episodic memory deficit in alcoholism is an intrinsic memory deficit or whether it has an executive origin. Thus, the objectives are to specify which episodic memory processes are impaired early in abstinence from alcohol and to determine whether they should be regarded as genuine memory deficits or rather as the indirect consequences of executive impairments. METHODS Forty recently detoxified alcoholic inpatients at alcohol entry treatment and 55 group-matched controls underwent a neuropsychological assessment of episodic memory and executive functions. The episodic memory evaluation consisted of 3 tasks complementing each other designed to measure the different episodic memory components (learning, storage, encoding and retrieval, contextual memory, and autonoetic consciousness) and 5 executive tasks testing capacities of organization, inhibition, flexibility, updating, and integration. RESULTS Compared with control subjects, alcoholic patients presented impaired learning abilities, encoding processes, retrieval processes, contextual memory and autonoetic consciousness. However, there was no difference between the 2 groups regarding the storage capacities assessed by the rate of forgetting. Concerning executive functions, alcoholic subjects displayed deficits in each executive task used. Nevertheless, stepwise regression analyses showed that only performances on fluency tasks were significantly predictive of some of the episodic memory disorders (learning abilities for 40%, encoding processes for 20%, temporal memory for 21%, and state of consciousness associated with memories for 26%) in the alcoholic group. DISCUSSION At alcohol treatment entry, alcoholic patients present genuine episodic memory deficits that cannot be regarded solely as the consequences of executive dysfunctions. These results are in accordance with neuroimaging findings showing hippocampal atrophy. Moreover, given the involvement of episodic memory and executive functions in alcohol treatment, these data could have clinical implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Lise Pitel
- Inserm EPHE Université de Caen/Basse-Normandie, Unité E0218, GIP Cyceron, CHU Côte de Nacre, Caen, France
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Mitrirattanakul S, López-Valdés HE, Liang J, Matsuka Y, Mackie K, Faull KF, Spigelman I. Bidirectional alterations of hippocampal cannabinoid 1 receptors and their endogenous ligands in a rat model of alcohol withdrawal and dependence. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2007; 31:855-67. [PMID: 17386072 DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2007.00366.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The hippocampus is strongly implicated in memory processes and contains high concentrations of both cannabinoid receptors and their endogenous ligands. Chronic alcohol consumption impairs a variety of cognitive and performance tasks, including memory and learning. As the activation of cannabinoid receptors by their endogenous ligands modulates hippocampal neurotransmission, we hypothesized that the impaired memory and learning in alcoholism may be due to alterations in the hippocampal endocannabinoid system. METHODS We used the rat chronic intermittent ethanol (CIE) model for alcohol withdrawal and dependence which involves intermittent episodes of ethanol intoxication (60 doses) and withdrawal (approximating binge drinking episodes in humans). We measured the levels of cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R) protein (Western blot using a C-terminal-directed antibody), CB1R mRNA (real-time RT-PCR), CB1R localization (immunocytochemistry), tissue levels of the endocannabinoids N-arachidonoylethanolamine/anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), and function (patch-clamp recordings of depolarization-induced suppression of inhibition (DSI), as well as effects of CB1R agonist WIN 55,212-2 on inhibitory currents) in the hippocampus of CIE rats and their saline-treated controls. RESULTS Results were obtained in saline and CIE-treated rats after 2 and 40 days of withdrawal (DW) from their respective treatments. In 2 DW CIE rats, CB1R mRNA and protein levels were decreased by 27% (p<0.05) compared with saline controls. Surprisingly, in 40 DW CIE rats, CB1R mRNA increased by 100% and protein increased by 21%, confirmed by immunohistochemistry. Hippocampal [2-AG] increased in both 2 and 40 DW CIE rats; [AEA] increased only at 40 DW. Hippocampal DSI of CIE rats was significantly reduced at 2 DW but not at 40 DW. The CB1R agonist WIN 55,212-2 (0.5 microM) produced a significantly greater decrease in the frequency of spontaneous inhibitory currents from saline-treated rats compared with CIE rats at 2 DW, but not at 40 DW. CONCLUSIONS These data demonstrate that CIE treatment and withdrawal transiently down-regulates hippocampal CB1 Rs followed by a long-term up-regulation, including increased levels of endogenous cannabinoids. These findings are consistent with our hypothesis and suggest that long-term up-regulation of hippocampal CB1Rs may contribute to the long-term cognitive impairments in alcoholism. The data further suggest that the effectiveness of CB1R blockade in decreasing alcohol consumption may be greater after protracted abstinence from alcohol.
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Affiliation(s)
- Somsak Mitrirattanakul
- Division of Oral Biology & Medicine, School of Dentistry, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095-1668, USA
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Fein G, Torres J, Price LJ, Di Sclafani V. Cognitive performance in long-term abstinent alcoholic individuals. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2006; 30:1538-44. [PMID: 16930216 PMCID: PMC1868685 DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2006.00185.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 151] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There are few investigations of the potential recovery of neurocognitive function in chronic alcoholic samples after very-long-term abstinence. The current study examined cognitive abilities in middle-aged (mean age 46.8 years), long-term abstinent alcoholic individuals (LTAA). Twenty-five LTAA men and 23 LTAA women abstinent for an average of 6.7 years were compared with an equal number of gender and age-comparable normal controls (NC). We examined the association of neurocognitive variables with age, duration of abstinence, alcohol use measures, and the density of a family history of problem drinking. METHODS Long-term abstinent alcoholic individuals and NC underwent comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. Performance was measured in the following 9 domains: abstraction/cognitive flexibility, attention, auditory working memory, immediate memory, delayed memory, psychomotor function, reaction time, spatial processing, and verbal skills. RESULTS Long-term abstinent alcoholic individuals performed similarly to NC, except for deficits in the spatial processing domain. The spatial processing results must be interpreted with caution because of multiple comparison issues; however, spatial processing deficits are among the impairments most often reported in abstinent alcoholic individuals. None of the cognitive measures were associated with length of abstinence, any alcohol use variable, or family history measure. CONCLUSIONS Very-long-term abstinence resolves most neurocognitive deficits associated with alcoholism, except for the suggestion of lingering deficits in spatial processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Fein
- Neurobehavioral Research Inc., Corte Madera, California 94925, USA.
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Rupp CI, Fleischhacker WW, Drexler A, Hausmann A, Hinterhuber H, Kurz M. Executive function and memory in relation to olfactory deficits in alcohol-dependent patients. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2006; 30:1355-62. [PMID: 16899038 DOI: 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2006.00162.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prior research indicates that chronic alcoholism is accompanied by olfactory deficits. These have been suggested to reflect dysfunctions in olfactory brain regions. The present study investigated the role of neurocognitive functioning in tests (executive function and memory) sensitive to the functional integrity of brain areas that are crucial to olfactory processing in patients with alcohol dependence. METHODS Performance on olfactory functions (detection threshold, quality discrimination, identification), executive function (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test), and memory (German version of the California Verbal Learning Test) was assessed in 32 alcohol-dependent patients and 30 healthy comparison subjects, comparable in age, gender, and smoking status. RESULTS Compared with controls, alcohol-dependent patients were impaired in all 3 domains, olfactory functions, executive function, and memory. In patients, olfactory discrimination ability was positively correlated with executive function performance. Regression analyses conducted to clarify the relation between group (patients vs controls), executive function, memory, and olfactory functions indicated that group was the only significant predictor of olfactory detection threshold and identification, and both group and executive function were found to be the significant predictors of olfactory discrimination. CONCLUSIONS Olfactory deficits in alcohol dependence appear to be associated with prefrontal cognitive dysfunction. Results indicate that olfactory quality discrimination deficits are related to executive function impairment. These findings add to the available research on frontal lobe dysfunction in alcoholism, suggesting that alcohol-related olfactory discrimination deficits may be associated with impairment in the functional integrity of the prefrontal lobe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia I Rupp
- Department of Psychiatry, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria.
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Fein G, Landman B, Tran H, McGillivray S, Finn P, Barakos J, Moon K. Brain atrophy in long-term abstinent alcoholics who demonstrate impairment on a simulated gambling task. Neuroimage 2006; 32:1465-71. [PMID: 16872844 PMCID: PMC1868686 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2006.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2006] [Revised: 06/09/2006] [Accepted: 06/10/2006] [Indexed: 10/24/2022] Open
Abstract
We recently demonstrated impairment on the Simulated Gambling Task (SGT) in long-term abstinent alcoholics (AbsAlc). Brain regions that have been shown to be necessary for intact SGT performance are the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) and the amygdala; patients with VMPFC or amygdalar damage demonstrate SGT impairments similar to those of substance abusing populations. We examined these brain regions, using T1-weighted MRIs, in the 101 participants from our previous study using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). VBM was performed using a modification we developed [Fein, G., Landman, B., Tran, H., Barakos, J., Moon, K., Di Sclafani, V., Shumway, R., 2006. Statistical parametric mapping of brain morphology: sensitivity is dramatically increased by using brain-extracted images as inputs. Neuroimage] of Baron's procedure, [], in which we use skull-stripped images as input. We also restricted the analysis to a ROI consisting of the amygdala and VMPFC as defined by the Talairach Daemon resource. Compared to the controls, the AbsAlc participants had significant foci of reduced gray matter density within the amygdala. Thus, SGT decision-making deficits are associated with reduced gray matter in the amygdala, a brain region previously implicated in similar decision-making impairments in neurological samples. This structurally based abnormality may be the result of long-term alcohol abuse or dependence, or it may reflect a pre-existing factor that predisposes one to severe alcoholism. From an image analysis perspective, this work demonstrates the increased sensitivity that results from using skull-stripped inputs and from restricting the analysis to a ROI. Without both of these methodological advances, no statistically significant finding would have been forthcoming from this work.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Fein
- Neurobehavioral Research Inc., 201 Tamal Vista Boulevard, Corte Madera, CA 94925, USA.
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Nagel BJ, Schweinsburg AD, Phan V, Tapert SF. Reduced hippocampal volume among adolescents with alcohol use disorders without psychiatric comorbidity. Psychiatry Res 2005; 139:181-90. [PMID: 16054344 PMCID: PMC2270700 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2005.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 227] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2004] [Revised: 02/22/2005] [Accepted: 05/26/2005] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Studies have suggested that teens with alcohol use disorder (AUD) can demonstrate memory deficits, but the underlying neuroanatomical substrates are unclear. The hippocampus is crucial to intact memory functioning, and it actively develops during adolescence. The current study attempted to replicate and extend previous findings suggesting that adolescents with AUD show smaller hippocampal volumes than healthy adolescents. Manual tracings of bilateral hippocampi were performed on structural magnetic resonance images of 14 adolescents (ages 15 to 17 years) with AUD and 17 healthy comparison teens. Intracranial, white, and gray matter volumes, as well as memory abilities, were also measured. Results revealed that adolescents with AUD had significantly smaller left hippocampal volumes than healthy teens, even after removal of teens with comorbid conduct disorder from the analyses. In contrast the groups did not differ in right hippocampal, intracranial, gray or white matter volumes, or memory performance. Hippocampal volumes were not related to alcohol-consumption rates. These findings indicate that adolescents with AUD, but free from other psychiatric comorbidities, have reduced left hippocampal volume. Because hippocampal volume did not relate to alcohol use characteristics, it is possible that premorbid volumetric differences could account for some of the observed group differences in hippocampal volume.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bonnie J. Nagel
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093−0804, USA
- Veterans Medical Research Foundation, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Alecia D. Schweinsburg
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, School of Arts and Sciences, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Vinh Phan
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093−0804, USA
| | - Susan F. Tapert
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093−0804, USA
- Veterans Medical Research Foundation, San Diego, CA, USA
- VA San Diego Healthcare System (115B), 3350 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA 92161, USA
- Corresponding author. VA San Diego Healthcare System (151B), 3350 La Jolla Village Drive, San Diego, CA 92161, USA. Tel.: +1 858 552 8585×2599; fax: +1 858 642 6474. E-mail address: (S.F. Tapert)
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Roseribloom MJ, Pfefferbaum A, Sullivan EV. Recovery of Short-Term Memory and Psychomotor Speed but Not Postural Stability With Long-Term Sobriety in Alcoholic Women. Neuropsychology 2004; 18:589-597. [PMID: 15291737 DOI: 10.1037/0894-4105.18.3.589] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The authors assessed effects of extended abstinence on cognitive and motor function deficits previously observed in a group of alcoholic women (n = 43) initially tested after 15 weeks of sobriety. Alcoholic women were retested 1 and 4 years later, and control women were retested 3 years later. At Year 1, 14 of 23 returners had maintained sobriety, but they did not perform significantly better than relapsers; the group as a whole continued to show deficits relative to age norms. By Year 4, 13 of 14 returners had maintained sobriety for more than 30 months; as a group, these women had returned to normal levels on tests of memory and psychomotor speed but remained impaired in standing balance.
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Cadete-Leite A, Pereira PA, Madeira MD, Paula-Barbosa MM. Nerve growth factor prevents cell death and induces hypertrophy of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons in rats withdrawn from prolonged ethanol intake. Neuroscience 2003; 119:1055-69. [PMID: 12831864 DOI: 10.1016/s0306-4522(03)00205-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
We have previously reported that the hippocampal cholinergic fiber network is severely damaged in animals withdrawn from ethanol, and that a remarkable recovery in fiber density occurs following hippocampal grafting, a finding that we suggested to be underpinned by the graft production of neurotrophic factors, which are known to be decreased after ethanol exposure. It is widely accepted that nerve growth factor (NGF) signals the neurons of the brain cholinergic system, including those of the medial septum/vertical limb of the diagonal band of Broca (MS/VDB) nuclei, from which the septohippocampal projection arises. Because neurons in these nuclei are vulnerable to ethanol consumption and withdrawal we thought of interest to investigate, in withdrawn rats previously submitted to a prolonged period of ethanol intake, the effects of intraventricular delivery of NGF upon the MS/VDB cholinergic neurons. Stereological methods were applied to estimate neuron numbers and neuronal volumes in choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-immunostained and Nissl-stained material. We have found that in ethanol-fed rats there was a significant reduction in the total number of Nissl-stained and cholinergic neurons in the MS/VDB, and that the suppression of ethanol intake further decreased neuron numbers. In addition, the somatic size of ChAT-IR neurons was reduced by ethanol intake, and withdrawal further aggravated neuronal atrophy. NGF treatment prevented the withdrawal-associated loss, and induced hypertrophy, of cholinergic neurons. These findings show that exogenous NGF protects the phenotype and prevents the withdrawal-induced degeneration of cholinergic neurons in the MS/VDB. These effects might be due to the trophic action of NGF upon the basal forebrain cholinergic neurons, including the hippocampal fiber network that conveys this neurotrophin retrogradely to the MS/VDB, and/or upon their targets, that is, the hippocampal formation neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Cadete-Leite
- Department of Anatomy, Porto Medical School, Alameda Prof. Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319, Porto, Portugal.
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Brokate B, Hildebrandt H, Eling P, Fichtner H, Runge K, Timm C. Frontal lobe dysfunctions in Korsakoff's syndrome and chronic alcoholism: continuity or discontinuity? Neuropsychology 2003; 17:420-8. [PMID: 12959508 DOI: 10.1037/0894-4105.17.3.420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
The effect of long-term heavy alcohol consumption on brain functions is still under debate. The authors investigated a sample of 17 Korsakoff amnesics, 23 alcoholics without Korsakoff's syndrome, and 21 controls with peripheral nerve diseases, matched for intelligence and education. Executive functions were examined for word fluency, the modified Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, an alternate response task, and an "n-back" working memory task. Korsakoff amnesics, but not alcoholics, showed a marked memory impairment. They also scored lower in each of the executive tasks-the alcoholics only in the alternate response task. This task also correlated with the years of the alcohol dependency. First, the authors conclude that Korsakoff's syndrome is associated not only with a memory impairment but also with a global executive deficit. Second, the decline in the ability to alternate between different responses argues for a restricted neurotoxic effect of alcohol on some frontal lobe areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Brokate
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Municipal Hospital of Bremen, Germany.
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Tivis LJ, Green MD, Nixon SJ, Tivis RD. Alcohol, estrogen replacement therapy, and visuospatial processes in postmenopausal women. Alcohol Clin Exp Res 2003; 27:1055-63. [PMID: 12878911 DOI: 10.1097/01.alc.0000075545.28199.df] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Studies suggest that moderate drinking may benefit cognition and the effect may favor women. This study investigated effects of moderate drinking on visuospatial functioning in postmenopausal women. Visuospatial processes are sensitive to alcohol abuse and are thought to be sensitive to hormonal fluctuations. Three questions were posed in order to: explore visuospatial processes in moderate-drinking and abstaining postmenopausal women, assess visuospatial differences in women using no estrogen replacement therapy (No-ERT), ERT alone (ERT-only), and ERT with progestin (ERT+Pro), and identify alcohol/ERT interactions associated with visuospatial performance. METHODS Two hundred fourteen postmenopausal women participated (75 No-ERT; 63 ERT-only; 76 ERT+Pro. All were moderate drinkers or teetotalers and all received the Block Design test from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised. A raw score was calculated and progress at 30-sec intervals was assessed. RESULTS ANOVA revealed an alcohol main effect [F(3,202) = 4.74; p < 0.004] on 60- to 120-sec change scores. Teetotalers had significantly smaller change scores (less improvement) compared with all levels of drinkers. ANOVA on design 9 (the most difficult trial) revealed an ERT main effect [F(3,202) = 4.37; p < 0.02]. ERT nonusers scored significantly lower than ERT-only and ERT+Pro groups. A design 9 trend toward an alcohol x ERT interaction was noted [F(6,202) = 1.93; p < 0.08], and a design 9 time x alcohol interaction was revealed [F(6,404) = 2.65; p < 0.02]. CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that moderate drinking may be positively associated with visuospatial processes in postmenopausal women. They also suggest that ERT, alone and with progestin, is positively associated with visuospatial processes, but only when the task is difficult. These findings support Kaplan's assertion that subtle performance deficits may not be detectible with traditional endpoint measures. A provocative alcohol x ERT trend suggests that alcohol consumption should be considered in studies of ERT effects on cognitive ability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura J Tivis
- Oklahoma Center for Alcohol and Drug-Related Studies, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, USA.
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