Binge Drinking and Memory in Adolescents and Young Adults

Abstract

The binge drinking (BD) pattern of alcohol consumption, characterized by intermittent consumption of large quantities of alcohol in short periods, is currently prevalent during adolescence and early youth. This period is characterized by critical changes to the structural and functional development of brain areas related with memory, as well as other executive functions. As a result, BD has been associated with undermined learning and memory ability in adolescents and youths of both sexes. One distinctive contribution of this chapter is to evaluate, together, the impact of an acute BD episode, the sample's history of consumption, and its effect on learning and memory performance and as potential gender differences. The main findings of the published research show that BD has differential effects on several types of memory and confirm that women are more vulnerable to these detrimental effects of alcohol than are men. These cognitive differences between men and women seem to be overridden as the blood alcohol concentration progressively increases. As BD pattern of consumption has been associated with inhibitory control deficits, future research also should investigate long-term implementation of inhibitory control training, emphasizing the importance of this training as part of the intervention strategies focused on this at-risk group.

Binge Drinking, Alone or With Cannabis, During Adolescence Triggers Different Effects on Immediate Visual Memory in Men and Women

“…They were classified as alcohol consumers with a BD pattern in accordance with the NIAAA criteria for Spain [see ( 23 )], i.e., if they had drunk six or more standard drink units (SDU = 10 g of alcohol) of distilled spirits (alcohol content ≥ 40 vol. %) in a short of period of time in the case of men, and five or more SDU in the case of women, at a minimum frequency of three occasions per month, throughout the previous 12 months ( 6 ). Finally, the participants were classified as co-users if they reported a pattern of BD along with cannabis use (i.e., they usually smoked a joint while they have an episode of BD).…”

“…The prevalent pattern of alcohol use among adolescents and young adults in Western countries is binge drinking (BD), which has been defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) as a pattern of drinking that raises a person's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.8 g/L or above ( 3 ). This pattern is characterized by intermittent consumption of large quantities of alcohol in short periods at intervals of between 1 week and 1 month and alternation between intoxication and withdrawal ( 4 – 6 ).…”

Desregulación del eje hipotalámico-pituitario-adrenal iniciada por un patrón binge drinking, pero no por el consumo agudo de alcohol, en mujeres y hombres adolescentes

“…La mayoría de esta población desarrolla un patrón de consumo conocido como consumo intensivo de alcohol o binge drinking (BD), definido por el National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA, 2004) como un patrón de consumo en el que la concentración de alcohol en sangre (CAS) aumenta a 0,8 g/L o más. El BD se caracteriza por la ingesta de grandes cantidades de alcohol en un corto período de tiempo (dos horas), seguido de un período de abstinencia que puede variar entre una semana y un mes (Parada et al, 2011;Vinader-Caerols y Monleón, 2019). La prevalencia de BD en España es alta: el 32,3% de los estudiantes españoles entre 14 y 18 años de edad admitieron en una reciente encuesta haber participado en este tipo de consumo en los últimos 30 días (Observatorio Español de las Drogas y las Adicciones, 2020).…”