Memory encoding and retrieval on the ascending and descending limbs of the blood alcohol concentration curve

Abstract

Under naturalistic drinking conditions, alcohol's effects on memory depend on task, memory process, and limb of the BAC curve. The differential effects of alcohol on retrieval during the ascending and descending limbs demonstrate the importance of examining the differential effects on the two limbs.

The acute effects of alcohol on memory: A review of laboratory studies in healthy adults

“…Information is most commonly tested by asking the participant to recall the words from the study phase (recall) or by presenting the participant with words from the study phase (old) along with words that were not presented during the study phase (new) and asking the participant to distinguish between old and new words. words produced on recall tasks (15)(16). On recognition memory tasks, alcohol has generally been shown to decrease hit rates (proportion of old words identified as old) and d' (signal detection measure of sensitivity in distinguishing between old and new words) and to induce a more conservative response bias (i.e., decreased likelihood of responding old) in some cases, but to have no effect on false alarm rates (proportion of new words identified as old) (16)(17)(18)(19)(20).…”

“…words produced on recall tasks (15)(16). On recognition memory tasks, alcohol has generally been shown to decrease hit rates (proportion of old words identified as old) and d' (signal detection measure of sensitivity in distinguishing between old and new words) and to induce a more conservative response bias (i.e., decreased likelihood of responding old) in some cases, but to have no effect on false alarm rates (proportion of new words identified as old) (16)(17)(18)(19)(20). However, in contrast to effects on recall, the effects of alcohol on recognition memory are not consistently observed across studies (21)(22).…”

“…Nevertheless, impairment of retrieval has been observed under certain conditions (16,25). Soderlund et al (16) reported that alcohol impaired retrieval on the ascending limb of the blood alcohol concentration curve but not on the descending limb, whereas encoding was impaired on both limbs. The authors speculated that acute tolerance might have developed to the effects of alcohol on retrieval.…”

The Effects of Alcohol on Crime‐related Memories: A Field Study

“…This pattern may confront law enforcement professionals with interpretative problems. Research shows that alcohol undermines memory because it interferes with the encoding and particularly the consolidation of new information (Ray & Bates, 2006;Söderlund, Parker, Schwartz, & Tulving, 2005;Verster, Van Duin, Volkerts, Schrueder, & Verbaten, 2003). More specifically, alcohol disturbs transfer of information from short-term into long-term memory (e.g.…”

Intact Preference Conditioning in Acute Intoxication Despite Deficient Declarative Knowledge and Working Memory

“…It is to the frustration of many researchers, therefore, that alcohol often shows equivocal effects in the laboratory, possibly because its effects depend on many different factors (Balodis et al, 2006;Bruce et al, 1999;Fillmore et al, 2000). For example, the effect of alcohol on learning depends on whether participants are tested on the ascending or descending limb of the blood-alcohol concentration curve, the specific behavioral task, and whether alcohol is administered during learning acquisition or prior to retrieval (Pihl et al, 2003;Soederlund et al, 2005). The variability in alcohol's effects on learning and memory may also be explained by cognitive factors that differentially moderate the effects of alcohol (Sayette, 1999).…”