Effects of Alcohol and Nicotine on Free Recall of Relevant Cues

Abstract

It is proposed that alcohol and nicotine will affect free recall of relevant cues and that these effects are mediated by changes in level of arousal. Alcohol (0.0 ml, 0.97 ml, or 2.33 ml per kg of body weight) and nicotine (no cigarettes, or two cigarettes each containing 1.3 mg of nicotine) were administered either individually or jointly to six groups of 15 men, such that different combinations of alcohol and nicotine induced different levels of arousal. Since subjects performed at chance level on recall of word-color, which constituted the irrelevant cue, no conclusions regarding the effect of the drugs on recall of irrelevant cues could be drawn. Under conditions of high arousal, induced by the administration of nicotine or a low dose of alcohol, immediate free recall of 20 adjectives was superior to recall in the low-arousal conditions (a moderate dose of alcohol administered either singly or in conjunction with nicotine) and in the control group. This finding is in line with the prediction that arousal, induced by nicotine or a low alcohol dose enhances attention to high-priority task components.

The effects of nicotine on intrusive memories in nonsmokers.

“…There is a significant body of research focused on the effects of nicotine administration on memory. Researchers have found that nicotine administration enhances memory acquisition and consolidation (Levin, McClernon, & Rezvani, 2006), as well as free recall memory (Jubis, 1986). Froeliger et al (2009) found that nicotine administration decreased reaction time (RT) for novelty detection in smokers and improved attention to novel stimuli and recognition memory in nonsmokers.…”

Forget "drinking to forget": Enhanced consolidation of emotionally charged memory by alcohol.

“…Other substances with more direct actions in the brain can also moderate, including cholinergic (Brioni, McGaugh, & Izquierdo, 1989) and GABAergic (Castellano & Pavone, 1988; Castellano & Populin, 1990) compounds. The dose of alcohol is also important, with memory facilitation at low doses but impairment at moderate-to-heavy doses (Jubis, 1986, 1990). Participant variables such as intelligence (Maylor, Rabbitt, James, & Kerr, 1990), gender (Haut, Beckwith, Petros, & Russell, 1989), familiarity with the task (Rumbold & White, 1987), and environment (Babbini, Jones, & Alkana, 1991; Colbern, Sharek, & Zimmermann, 1986; Miles, Porter, & Jones, 1986) can also moderate.…”