Future thinking instructions improve prospective memory performance in adolescents

Funding This work was supported by the German Research Foundation [DFG grants SFB 940/1]. Acknowledgements We would like to thank Lia Kvavilashvili for her helpful comments on this study during the International Conference on Prospective Memory (ICPM4) in Naples, Italy, 2014. We thank Daniel P. Sheppard for proofreading the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Alcohol-Induced Blackout

For a long time, alcohol was thought to exert a general depressant effect on the central nervous system (CNS). However, currently the consensus is that specific regions of the brain are selectively vulnerable to the acute effects of alcohol. An alcohol-induced blackout is the classic example; the subject is temporarily unable to form new long-term memories while relatively maintaining other skills such as talking or even driving. A recent study showed that alcohol can cause retrograde memory impairment, that is, blackouts due to retrieval impairments as well as those due to deficits in encoding. Alcoholic blackouts may be complete (en bloc) or partial (fragmentary) depending on severity of memory impairment. In fragmentary blackouts, cueing often aids recall. Memory impairment during acute intoxication involves dysfunction of episodic memory, a type of memory encoded with spatial and social context. Recent studies have shown that there are multiple memory systems supported by discrete brain regions, and the acute effects of alcohol on learning and memory may result from alteration of the hippocampus and related structures on a cellular level. A rapid increase in blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is most consistently associated with the likelihood of a blackout. However, not all subjects experience blackouts, implying that genetic factors play a role in determining CNS vulnerability to the effects of alcohol. This factor may predispose an individual to alcoholism, as altered memory function during intoxication may affect an individual’s alcohol expectancy; one may perceive positive aspects of intoxication while unintentionally ignoring the negative aspects. Extensive research on memory and learning as well as findings related to the acute effects of alcohol on the brain may elucidate the mechanisms and impact associated with the alcohol-induced blackout

Assessment of Verbal and Nonverbal Memory and Learning in Abstinent Alcoholics

Neuropsychological performance was measured in chronic alcoholics who maintained abstinence for at least six months and with matched controls. Specifically, measures of verbal memory were assessed utilizing the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and measures of nonverbal memory with the Rey Osterreith Complex Figure Test (ROCF) and a new measure, the Poreh Nonverbal Memory Test (PNMT). In addition, both the RAVLT and the PNMT provide a measure of operationalized learning, as they are multi-trial tasks utilizing five trials to assess recall in each trial. Verbal memory includes the ability to encode, store and retrieve information for words, language and verbal stimuli. Nonverbal memory reflects the ability to encode, store and retrieve information that is visual and spatial in nature. It is devoid of verbal components and includes abstract designs or nonsense figures. Currently, there are questions as to the validity of many nonverbal memory measures because they allow for sub-vocalization of the tasks thereby utilizing verbal mediation (Wisniewski, Wendling, Manning & Steinhoff, 2012). The present study assessed for differences in verbal and nonverbal memory in abstinent alcoholics and predicted that they would perform more poorly on nonverbal measures while verbal memory would remain intact. Additionally, a comparison of learning curves was examined for each group. Finally, the PNMT was validated by correlating with a current neuropsychological assessment of memory and learning, the RAVLT, and a nonverbal neuropsychological assessment, the ROCF. Results indicated that the abstinent alcoholics differed significantly in nonverbal measurements depending upon the complexity of the tasks. Concerning verbal tasks, there was no significant difference in results across the groups. However, the length of alcohol dependence did significantly predict performance on the RAVLT recognition task indicating possible frontal lobe deficits and disordered recall. Correlational analyses indicate that the utilit

Assessment of Verbal and Nonverbal Memory and Learning in Abstinent Alcoholics

Neuropsychological performance was measured in chronic alcoholics who maintained abstinence for at least six months and with matched controls. Specifically, measures of verbal memory were assessed utilizing the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and measures of nonverbal memory with the Rey Osterreith Complex Figure Test (ROCF) and a new measure, the Poreh Nonverbal Memory Test (PNMT). In addition, both the RAVLT and the PNMT provide a measure of operationalized learning, as they are multi-trial tasks utilizing five trials to assess recall in each trial. Verbal memory includes the ability to encode, store and retrieve information for words, language and verbal stimuli. Nonverbal memory reflects the ability to encode, store and retrieve information that is visual and spatial in nature. It is devoid of verbal components and includes abstract designs or nonsense figures. Currently, there are questions as to the validity of many nonverbal memory measures because they allow for sub-vocalization of the tasks thereby utilizing verbal mediation (Wisniewski, Wendling, Manning & Steinhoff, 2012). The present study assessed for differences in verbal and nonverbal memory in abstinent alcoholics and predicted that they would perform more poorly on nonverbal measures while verbal memory would remain intact. Additionally, a comparison of learning curves was examined for each group. Finally, the PNMT was validated by correlating with a current neuropsychological assessment of memory and learning, the RAVLT, and a nonverbal neuropsychological assessment, the ROCF. Results indicated that the abstinent alcoholics differed significantly in nonverbal measurements depending upon the complexity of the tasks. Concerning verbal tasks, there was no significant difference in results across the groups. However, the length of alcohol dependence did significantly predict performance on the RAVLT recognition task indicating possible frontal lobe deficits and disordered recall. Correlational analyses indicate that the utilit

Differential effects of negative emotion on memory for items and associations, and their relationship to intrusive imagery

A crucial aspect of episodic memory formation is the way in which our experiences are stored within a coherent spatio-temporal context. We review research that highlights how the experience of a negative event can alter memory encoding in a complex manner, strengthening negative items but weakening associations with other items and the surrounding context. Recent evidence suggests that these opposing effects can occur through amygdala up-modulation to facilitate item encoding, while the hippocampal provision of contextual binding is down-modulated. We consider how these characteristics of memory for negative events might contribute to the development and maintenance of distressing intrusive imagery in posttraumatic stress disorder, and how they should influence therapeutic interventions

Thinking after Drinking: Impaired Hippocampal-Dependent Cognition in Human Alcoholics and Animal Models of Alcohol Dependence

Alcohol use disorder currently affects approximately 18 million Americans, with at least half of these individuals having significant cognitive impairments subsequent to their chronic alcohol use. This is most widely apparent as frontal cortex dependent cognitive dysfunction, where executive function and decision making are severely compromised, as well as hippocampus dependent cognitive dysfunction, where contextual and temporal reasoning are negatively impacted. This review discusses the relevant clinical literature to support the theory that cognitive recovery in tasks dependent on the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus is temporally different across extended periods of abstinence from alcohol. Additional studies from preclinical models are discussed to support clinical findings. Finally, the unique cellular composition of the hippocampus and cognitive impairment dependent on the hippocampus is highlighted in the context of alcohol dependence

Electrophysiological anomalies in face-name memory encoding in young binge drinkers

A growing body of evidence indicates that the intake of large amounts of alcohol during one session may have structural and functional effects on the still-maturing brains of young people. These effects are particularly pronounced in prefrontal and hippocampal regions, which appear to be especially sensitive to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol. However, to date, few studies have used the event-related potentials (ERPs) technique to analyze the relationship between binge drinking (BD) and associative memory. The objective of this study was to examine brain activity during memory encoding using the Subsequent memory paradigm in subjects who have followed a BD pattern of alcohol consumption for at least 2 years. A total of 50 undergraduate students (mean age = 20.6 years), i. e., 25 controls (12 females) and 25 binge drinkers (BDs; 11 females), with no personal or family history of alcoholism or psychopathological disorders, performed a visual face-name association memory task. The task used enables assessment of the Difference due to memory effect (Dm), a measure of memory encoding based on comparison of the neural activity associated with subsequent successful and unsuccessful retrieval. In ERP studies, study items that are subsequently remembered elicit larger positive amplitudes at midline parieto-frontal sites than those items that are subsequently forgotten. The Dm effect generally appears in the latency range of about 300-800 ms. The results showed a Dm effect in posterior regions in the 350-650 ms latency range in the Control group. However, in the BD group, no significant differences were observed in the electrophysiological brain activity between remembered and forgotten items during the encoding process. No differences between groups were found in behavioral performance. These findings show that young BDs display abnormal pattern of ERP brain activity during the encoding phase of a visual face-name association task, possibly suggesting a different neural signature of successful memory encoding.This study was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad-Plan Nacional sobre Drogas (2005/PN014, 2015/034), Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (PSI2015-70525-P) co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. RF-A is funded by a Predoctoral Fellowship (ED481A-2016/141) from the Conselleria de Cultura, Educacion e Ordenacion Universitaria, Xunta de Galicia, co-funded by FSE Galicia 2014-2020. EL-C and AC are currently supported by the SFRH/BPD/109750/2015 and the SFRH/BPD/91440/2012 Postdoctoral Fellowships of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, respectively

Acute Alcohol and Cognition: Remembering What It Causes Us to Forget

Addiction has been conceptualized as a specific form of memory that appropriates typically adaptive neural mechanisms of learning to produce the progressive spiral of drug-seeking and drug-taking behavior, perpetuating the path to addiction through aberrant processes of drug-related learning and memory. From that perspective, to understand the development of alcohol use disorders it is critical to identify how a single exposure to alcohol enters into or alters the processes of learning and memory, so that involvement of and changes in neuroplasticity processes responsible for learning and memory can be identified early on. This review characterizes the effects produced by acute alcohol intoxication as a function of brain region and memory neurocircuitry. In general, exposure to ethanol doses that produce intoxicating effects causes consistent impairments in learning and memory processes mediated by specific brain circuitry, whereas lower doses either have no effect or produce a facilitation of memory under certain task conditions. Therefore, acute ethanol does not produce a global impairment of learning and memory, and can actually facilitate particular types of memory, perhaps particular types of memory that facilitate the development of excessive alcohol use. In addition, the effects on cognition are dependent on brain region, task demands, dose received, pharmacokinetics, and tolerance. Additionally, we explore the underlying alterations in neurophysiology produced by acute alcohol exposure that help to explain these changes in cognition and highlight future directions for research. Through understanding the impact acute alcohol intoxication has on cognition, the preliminary changes potentially causing a problematic addiction memory can better be identified