Stephens David N, Duka Theodora
Department of Psychology, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, UK.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2008 Oct 12;363(1507):3169-79. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2008.0097.
Binge drinking is an increasingly recognized problem within the UK. We have studied the relationship of binge drinking to cognitive and emotional functioning in young adults, and have found evidence for increased impulsivity, impairments in spatial working memory and impaired emotional learning. Since in human studies it is difficult to understand whether such behavioural changes pre-date or are a consequence of binge drinking, we have also studied parallel behaviours in a rodent model, in which rats are exposed to intermittent episodes of alcohol consumption and withdrawal. In this model, and in parallel with our findings in human binge drinkers, and alcoholic patients who have undergone multiple episodes of detoxification, we have found evidence for impairments in aversive conditioning as well as increased impulsivity. These behavioural changes are accompanied by facilitated excitatory neurotransmission and reduced plasticity (long-term potentiation (LTP)) in amygdala and hippocampus. The impaired LTP is accompanied by both impaired associative learning and inappropriate generalization of previously learned associations to irrelevant stimuli. We propose that repeated episodes of withdrawal from alcohol induce aberrant neuronal plasticity that results in altered cognitive and emotional competences.
狂饮在英国已成为一个日益受到关注的问题。我们研究了狂饮与年轻人认知和情绪功能之间的关系，发现了冲动性增加、空间工作记忆受损以及情绪学习障碍的证据。由于在人体研究中很难确定这些行为变化是先于狂饮出现还是狂饮的结果，我们还在啮齿动物模型中研究了类似行为，在该模型中，大鼠会经历间歇性饮酒和戒酒过程。在这个模型中，与我们在人类狂饮者以及经历过多次解毒的酒精性患者中的发现一致，我们发现了厌恶条件反射受损以及冲动性增加的证据。这些行为变化伴随着杏仁核和海马体中兴奋性神经传递的增强以及可塑性降低（长时程增强，LTP）。LTP受损伴随着联想学习受损以及将先前学到的联想不适当地泛化到无关刺激上。我们提出，反复戒酒会诱发异常的神经元可塑性，从而导致认知和情绪能力改变。
