Differences in the verbal fluency, working memory and executive functions in alcoholics: Short-term vs. long-term abstainers

Nowakowska‐Domagała, Katarzyna; Jabłkowska-Górecka, Karolina; Mokros, Łukasz; Koprowicz, Jacek; Pietras, Tadeusz

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2016.12.034

Cited by 25 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Specifically, inhibition, cognitive abstraction/flexibility, updating processes (Fein et al., ; Loeber et al., ; O'Leary et al., ; Pitel et al., ), attention (Fein et al., ; Loeber et al., ; O'Leary et al., ; Sullivan et al., ), and short‐term/working memory (Fein et al., ; Rosenbloom et al., ) show less impairment in long‐term abstinent alcoholics compared with short‐term abstinent alcoholics and exhibit recovery over time. Other studies, however, reported persistent executive impairment in patients with AUD after long‐term periods of abstinence from months to years (Munro et al., ; Nowakowska‐Domagala et al., ; Yohman et al., ). Decision‐making deficits may also endure in long‐term abstinent alcoholics (Ando et al., ; Fein et al., ); these deficits have been hypothesized to play a significant role in relapse.…”

Section: Recovery Of Alcohol‐related Cognitive Impairment With Abstinmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Individuals with AUD have difficulty with visual‐conceptual and visual‐motor tracking skills that intersect with motor processing. Such processes involve psychomotor speed, divided attention, mental flexibility, and set‐shifting as assessed with the Trail Making Test part B (Chanraud et al., ; Davies et al., ; Loeber et al., ; Moriyama et al., ; Noel et al., , ; Nowakowska‐Domagala et al., ; Oscar‐Berman et al., ; Zinn et al., ). Cognitive inhibition is also particularly affected in chronic alcoholism as assessed with the Stroop Color and Word Test (Dao‐Castellana et al., ; Le Berre et al., ; Noel et al., , ; Nowakowska‐Domagala et al., ; Pitel et al., ,b; Ratti et al., ; Tedstone and Coyle, ) and a semantic inhibition task, the Hayling test (Noel et al., , ).…”

Section: Alcohol‐related Cognitive Impairmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such processes involve psychomotor speed, divided attention, mental flexibility, and set‐shifting as assessed with the Trail Making Test part B (Chanraud et al., ; Davies et al., ; Loeber et al., ; Moriyama et al., ; Noel et al., , ; Nowakowska‐Domagala et al., ; Oscar‐Berman et al., ; Zinn et al., ). Cognitive inhibition is also particularly affected in chronic alcoholism as assessed with the Stroop Color and Word Test (Dao‐Castellana et al., ; Le Berre et al., ; Noel et al., , ; Nowakowska‐Domagala et al., ; Pitel et al., ,b; Ratti et al., ; Tedstone and Coyle, ) and a semantic inhibition task, the Hayling test (Noel et al., , ). Individuals with AUD have difficulty with abstract thinking, cognitive flexibility, set‐shifting, concept identification, working memory, problem‐solving, and ability to use feedback information assessed with measures such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (Chanraud et al., ; Fama et al., ; Oscar‐Berman et al., ; Ratti et al., ; Sullivan et al., ) and the Modified Card Sorting Test (Le Berre et al., ).…”

Section: Alcohol‐related Cognitive Impairmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Executive Functions, Memory, and Social Cognitive Deficits and Recovery in Chronic Alcoholism: A Critical Review to Inform Future Research

Berre

Fama

Sullivan

2017

Alcoholism Clin & Exp Res

268

208

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Alcoholism is a complex and dynamic disease, punctuated by periods of abstinence and relapse, and influenced by a multitude of vulnerability factors. Chronic excessive alcohol consumption is associated with cognitive deficits, ranging from mild to severe, in executive functions, memory, and metacognitive abilities, with associated impairment in emotional processes and social cognition. These deficits can compromise efforts in initiating and sustaining abstinence by hampering efficacy of clinical treatment and can obstruct efforts in enabling good decision-making, success in interpersonal/social interactions, and awareness of cognitive and behavioral dysfunctions. Despite evidence for differences in recovery levels of selective cognitive processes, certain deficits can persist even with prolonged sobriety. Herein is presented a review of alcohol-related cognitive impairments affecting component processes of executive functioning, memory, and the recently investigated cognitive domains of metamemory, social cognition, and emotional processing; also considered are trajectories of cognitive recovery with abstinence. Finally, in the spirit of critical review, limitations of current knowledge are noted and avenues for new research efforts are proposed that focus on (1) the interaction among emotion-cognition processes and identification of vulnerability factors contributing to the development of emotional and social processing deficits and (2) the time line of cognitive recovery by tracking alcoholism’s dynamic course of sobriety and relapse. Knowledge about the heterochronicity of cognitive recovery in alcoholism has the potential of indicating at which points during recovery intervention may be most beneficial.

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Section: Recovery Of Alcohol‐related Cognitive Impairment With Abstinmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Alcohol‐related Cognitive Impairmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Alcohol‐related Cognitive Impairmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Executive Functions, Memory, and Social Cognitive Deficits and Recovery in Chronic Alcoholism: A Critical Review to Inform Future Research

Berre

Fama

Sullivan

2017

Alcoholism Clin & Exp Res

268

208

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Results appear to be contradictory in relation to the involvement of the amygdala: Some studies relate a more adaptive caregiving behavior to an increased activity while others relate this to a decreased activity (Barrett et al 2012 ; Laurent and Ablow 2012a ; Lenzi et al 2016 ; Moses-Kolko et al 2010 ; Wonch et al 2016 ). In relation to this, Young et al ( 2017 ) hypothesize that sensitive maternal care lies on a U-shaped curve, where both hypo-reactivity and hyper-reactivity to infant cues in the amygdala are problematic.…”

Section: Peripartum Mental Disordersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brain plasticity in pregnancy and the postpartum period: links to maternal caregiving and mental health

Barba-Müller

Craddock

Carmona

et al. 2018

Arch Womens Ment Health

144

100

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Pregnancy and the postpartum period involve numerous physiological adaptations that enable the development and survival of the offspring. A distinct neural plasticity characterizes the female brain during this period, and dynamic structural and functional changes take place that accompany fundamental behavioral adaptations, stimulating the female to progress from an individual with self-directed needs to being responsible for the care of another life. While many animal studies detail these modifications, an emerging body of research reveals the existence of reproduction-related brain plasticity in human mothers too. Additionally, associations with aspects of maternal caregiving point to adaptive changes that benefit a woman's transition to motherhood. However, the dynamic changes that affect a woman's brain are not merely adaptive, and they likely confer a vulnerability for the development of mental disorders. Here, we review the changes in brain structure and function that a woman undergoes during the peripartum period, outlining associations between these neural alterations and different aspects of maternal care. We additionally discuss peripartum mood disorders and postpartum psychosis, and review the neuroimaging studies that investigate the neural bases of these conditions.

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“…There are several different theoretical models of WM, but one of the most influential models proposes that WM involves a central executive and 2 storage systems: the verbal WM (e.g., repeating a number sequence read aloud) and the visuospatial WM (e.g., remembering details/location of visual cues presented briefly on a screen; for more details, see Baddeley, ). Several lines of research have shown that AUD is associated with impairments in EF (for review, see Le Berre et al., ), including inhibition (Bjork et al., ; Finn et al., ; Lawrence et al., ; Le Berre et al., ; Noël et al., ; Nowakowska‐Domagała et al., ), WM (Chanraud et al., ; Lawrence et al., ; Martelli et al., ), cognitive flexibility (Goudriaan et al., ; Noël et al., ; Nowakowska‐Domagała et al., ), and more rapid discounting of future rewards (Bjork et al., ; Petry, ). These impairments in EF in AUD manifest as increased impulsive behavior (i.e., a propensity for inappropriate behavior without regard for future consequences; Dick et al., ; Verdejo‐García et al., ; de Wit, ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Working Memory Training in Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Khemiri

Brynte

Stünkel

et al. 2018

Alcoholism Clin & Exp Res

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Background Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is associated with cognitive deficits such as impaired executive functions, which are hypothesized to contribute to the progression of the disease and worsen treatment outcome. Training of working memory (WM) to improve cognitive functions and thereby reduce alcohol use has been proposed as a novel treatment strategy. Methods Patients with AUD (n = 50) who were recruited to an outpatient addiction clinic were randomized to receive 5 weeks of active WM training or control training. Participants had weekly follow‐up visits, and all cognitive training sessions were done online at home. Primary outcomes were WM function and change in self‐reported heavy drinking. Secondary outcomes were craving, other drinking outcomes, and performance on a range of neuropsychological tasks from the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery. Results The active training group demonstrated a significantly greater improvement in verbal WM compared with the control group. No statistically significant effect of training was found on the primary drinking outcome, but a trend was observed indicating that WM training reduces the number of drinks per drinking occasion. WM training had no statistically significant effect on any of the other neuropsychological tasks. Conclusions Cognitive training can improve WM function in individuals with AUD, suggesting that such interventions are feasible to administer in this patient population. The results do not support an effect of WM training on heavy drinking or transfer effects to other cognitive domains. Future studies should evaluate WM training as an adjunct to evidence‐based treatments for AUD to assess potential synergistic effects.

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Differences in the verbal fluency, working memory and executive functions in alcoholics: Short-term vs. long-term abstainers

Cited by 25 publications

References 41 publications

Executive Functions, Memory, and Social Cognitive Deficits and Recovery in Chronic Alcoholism: A Critical Review to Inform Future Research

Executive Functions, Memory, and Social Cognitive Deficits and Recovery in Chronic Alcoholism: A Critical Review to Inform Future Research

Brain plasticity in pregnancy and the postpartum period: links to maternal caregiving and mental health

Working Memory Training in Alcohol Use Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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