Magrys S A, Olmstead M C
Department of Psychology, Queen's University, 62 Arch Street, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada.
Brain Cogn. 2014 Mar;85:271-6. doi: 10.1016/j.bandc.2013.12.010. Epub 2014 Jan 31.
Alcohol intoxication affects frontal and temporal brain areas and may functionally impair cognitive processes mediated by these regions. This study examined this hypothesis by testing the effects of alcohol on sustained attention, impulsivity, and verbal memory. Sober and placebo control groups were used to distinguish pharmacological from expectancy effects of alcohol. One hundred nine university students were assigned to an alcohol (low, medium, or high dose), placebo or sober group. Moderate and high doses of alcohol impaired all cognitive measures. A gender effect was revealed in that alcohol impaired sustained attention in males, but not females. Both sustained attention and verbal memory exhibited a U-shaped pattern, in that the medium-dose alcohol group showed the greatest impairment. This study adds to knowledge about the effects of alcohol intoxication on frontally- and temporally-mediated cognitive function. These findings have specific relevance for heavy-drinking undergraduate populations, particularly in light of the fact that repeated alcohol administration produces persistent changes in brain neurocircuitry.
酒精中毒会影响大脑的额叶和颞叶区域，并可能在功能上损害由这些区域介导的认知过程。本研究通过测试酒精对持续注意力、冲动性和言语记忆的影响来检验这一假设。使用清醒组和安慰剂对照组来区分酒精的药理学作用和预期作用。109名大学生被分配到酒精组（低、中或高剂量）、安慰剂组或清醒组。中等剂量和高剂量的酒精损害了所有认知指标。研究发现了性别效应，即酒精损害男性的持续注意力，但不损害女性的持续注意力。持续注意力和言语记忆都呈现出U形模式，即中等剂量酒精组的损害最大。本研究增加了关于酒精中毒对额叶和颞叶介导的认知功能影响的知识。这些发现对大量饮酒的大学生群体具有特殊意义，特别是考虑到反复饮酒会导致大脑神经回路发生持续变化这一事实。
