A working memory bias for alcohol-related stimuli depends on drinking score.

Abstract

We tested 44 participants with respect to their working memory (WM) performance on alcohol-related versus neutral visual stimuli. Previously an alcohol attentional bias (AAB) had been reported using these stimuli, where the attention of frequent drinkers was automatically drawn toward alcohol-related items (e.g., beer bottle). The present study set out to provide evidence for an alcohol memory bias (AMB) that would persist over longer time-scales than the AAB. The WM task we used required memorizing 4 stimuli in their correct locations and a visual interference task was administered during a 4-sec delay interval. A subsequent probe required participants to indicate whether a stimulus was shown in the correct or incorrect location. For each participant we calculated a drinking score based on 3 items derived from the Alcohol Use Questionnaire, and we observed that higher scorers better remembered alcohol-related images compared with lower scorers, particularly when these were presented in their correct locations upon recall. This provides first evidence for an AMB. It is important to highlight that this effect persisted over a 4-sec delay period including a visual interference task that erased iconic memories and diverted attention away from the encoded items, thus the AMB cannot be reduced to the previously reported AAB. Our finding calls for further investigation of alcohol-related cognitive biases in WM, and we propose a preliminary model that may guide future research.

Do Executive Functions Predict Binge-Drinking Patterns? Evidence from a Longitudinal Study in Young Adulthood

“…The last three questions of the AUQ [(10) Number of drinks per hour; (11) Number of times intoxicated by alcohol; (12) Percentage of time drunk when going out drinking] ( Mehrabian and Russell, 1978 ) were used to calculate binge score ( Townshend and Duka, 2002 , 2005 ), which gives an estimate of binge drinking severity. The AUQ binge score is a validated ( Townshend and Duka, 2002 , 2005 ) and widely used method for exploring binge drinking (e.g., Kessler et al, 2013 ; Townshend et al, 2014 ; Czapla et al, 2015 ). As described previously ( Bø et al, 2015 , 2016 ), we employed a continuous approach to binge drinking, which is in line with the view of Enoch (2006) .…”

Heavy drinking and the role of inhibitory control of attention.

“…We have previously published manuscripts based on data (i.e., DORT performance) from a subset of these participants ( n = 40) (Weafer and Fillmore, 2012b; 2013). The first of these manuscripts (Weafer and Fillmore, 2012b) examined the acute disinhibiting effects of alcohol on inhibitory control and tested dose-response curve using the DORT.…”

“…The first of these manuscripts (Weafer and Fillmore, 2012b) examined the acute disinhibiting effects of alcohol on inhibitory control and tested dose-response curve using the DORT. The second study (Weafer and Fillmore, 2013) tested the acute effects of alcohol on attentional bias as measured by ocular fixation duration on a visual-probe task. The current study differs from these two studies because it examines how individual differences in magnitude of the disinhibiting effects of alcohol on the DORT relate to drinking habits.…”

Beyond Inhibition: A Dual-Process Perspective to Renew the Exploration of Binge Drinking

“…This proposal has received several confirmations among heavy drinkers or social drinkers, by showing that these alcohol-consumption patterns are associated with stronger craving (Grüsser et al, 2006) and with over-sensitivity to alcohol, as measured in various implicit tasks (Wiers et al, 2005; Field et al, 2008; Peeters et al, 2012; Kessler et al, 2013; Petit et al, 2013). Interestingly, recent longitudinal studies showed that the intensity of automatic approach tendency (particularly when combined with poor inhibition) significantly predicts future alcohol consumption among adolescents, confirming the importance of the automatic system in the initiation of excessive alcohol consumption (Thush and Wiers, 2007; Peeters et al, 2013).…”