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a b s t r a c t a r t i c l e i n f oAlcohol addictive behaviors are associated with a combination of deficits in executive functions, such as a weak response inhibition, and potent automatic appetitive responses to alcohol-related cues. The aim of the present study was to investigate behavioral responses and event-related potentials (ERPs) associated with specific response inhibition for alcohol-related cues. Thirty participants (15 heavy drinkers and 15 light drinkers) took part in the study. Response inhibition was assessed by a classical letter Go/No-go task and by a modified alcohol Go/No-go task. Participants were also classified as high and low alcohol avoiders. Results showed that heavy drinkers made more false alarms in the letter Go/No-go task. In the alcohol Go/No-go task, an absence of N200 amplitude anteriorization was found in heavy drinkers as compared to light drinkers. Participants with a high level of alcohol avoidance exhibited more false alarms, and higher N200 amplitude for the No-go trials as compared to the Go trials for alcohol-related cues. Higher P300 amplitude was observed in low alcohol avoiders for No-go as compared to Go trials. Therefore, a context involving alcohol-related cues disturbed inhibition capacities of high alcohol avoiders. These results suggest that the level of alcohol avoidance must be taken into account in studies investigating alcohol-related cognitive biases.

Aims: Recent studies with animal models showed that the stimulant and sedative effects of alcohol change during the adolescent period. In humans, the stimulant effects of ethanol are most often indirectly recorded through the measurement of explicit and implicit alcohol effect expectancies. However, it is unknown how such implicit and explicit expectancies evolve with age in humans during adolescence.Methods: Adolescent (13–16 year old), young adult (17–18 year old), and adult (35–55 year old) participants were recruited. On the basis of their score on the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), they were classified as non-problem (AUDIT ≤ 7) or problem (AUDIT ≥ 11) drinkers. The participants completed the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (AEQ) and performed two unipolar Implicit Association Test (IAT) to assess implicit associations between alcohol and the concepts of “stimulation” and “sedation”.Results: Problem drinkers from the three age groups reported significantly higher positive alcohol expectancies than non-problem drinkers on all AEQ subscales. Positive alcohol explicit expectancies also gradually decreased with age, with adolescent problem drinkers reporting especially high positive expectancies. This effect was statistically significant for all positive expectancies, with the exception of relaxation expectancies that were only close to statistical significance. In contrast, stimulation and sedation alcohol implicit associations were not significantly different between problem and non-problem drinkers and did not change with age.Conclusion: These results indicate that explicit positive alcohol effect expectancies predict current alcohol consumption levels, especially in adolescents. Positive alcohol expectancies also gradually decrease with age in the three cross-sectional groups of adolescents, young adults, and adults. This effect might be related to changes in the physiological response to alcohol.