Activation, Attention, and Visuospatial Learning in Adults With and Without a Family History of Alcoholism

Abstract

While recent evidence shows visuospatial information processing deficits to be present in chronic alcoholics, it remains unclear whether such deficits are present prior to alcohol abuse in persons at risk for developing alcoholism. If present, it is also unclear whether the information processing mechanisms underlying these deficits are the same in alcoholics and persons at risk for alcoholism. This study investigated visuospatial information processing psychophysiological activation in adults with and without a family history of alcoholism. Thirty matched nonalcoholics served as participants. Fifteen persons were from families in which at least one biologic parent and one other relative had a history of alcoholism. Another group of 15 persons had no family history of alcoholism. In addition to displaying atypical patterns of learning-contingent physiological activation, participants with a family history of alcoholism displayed visuospatial learning that was significantly poorer than persons with no family history of alcoholism. The learning and physiological activation displayed by the participants with a family history of alcoholism were similar to those displayed by previously studied alcoholics using a similar learning task. The data suggest that visuospatial learning deficits may reflect an antecedent to, rather than a consequence of, chronic alcohol abuse.

An inverse relationship between typical alcohol consumption and facial symmetry detection ability in young women

“…However, the sample size is comparable to other studies on cognitive effects of alcohol (e.g. Schandler et al, 1992;Beatty et al, 1996) and the relationship between alcohol use and symmetry perception appears to be a strong robust one. This study has four primary strengths.…”

“…The present findings suggest that any link between poor visuospatial abilities and a family history of alcoholism (e.g. Schandler et al, 1992Schandler et al, , 1993Schandler et al, , 1995 cannot account for the negative relationship between high alcohol consumption and low facial symmetry detection abilities.…”

“…Individuals with a family history of alcoholism show deficits in processing visuospatial information and deficits in visuospatial learning, regardless of age or history of alcohol use (e.g. Schandler et al, 1988;Schandler et al, 1992;Garland et al, 1993;Schandler et al, 1993;Schandler et al, 1995). While such deficits in children of alcoholics may be genetic in origin, they could also be due to prenatal alcohol exposure and associated fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) or effects (FAE) (Olson et al, 1998; see review by Mattson and Riley, 1998).…”

Coping with Ambiguity in Multi-Ethnic Children of Alcoholics

“…or Soc;,,! Psvrhologv Learning performance and psychophysiological data suggest that these visuospatial deficits are the result of disrupted attention to environmental cues (Bertera & Parsons, 1978;Heilbrun, Cassidy, Diehl, Haas, & Heilbrun, 1986;Ober & Stillman, 1988;Ryan, 1980;Schandler et al, 1992;Schandler, Cohen, & MeArthur, 1988;Schandler, Cohen, McArthur, Naliboff, & Hassell, 1988;Weingartner & Murphy, 1977). However, these data were collected during the presentation of a spatial task in which there was a clear distinction between the target stimuli and the background environment.…”

“…ALCOHOLICS AND THEIR CHILDREN exhibit a deficit in the processing of visuospatial information. Across a series of studies, Schandler and his colleagues (Schandler, Brannock, Cohen, Antick, & Caine, 1988;Schandler, Cohen. & Antick, 1992;Schandler, Cohen.…”