Citation

López-Caneda E, Cadaveira F, Crego A, Doallo S, Corral M, Gómez-Suárez A, Rodríguez Holguín S. Alcohol Alcohol. 2013; 48(4): 464-471.

Affiliation

Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, University of Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/alcalc/agt046

PMID

23695975

Abstract

AIMS: The objective of this study was to examine brain activity related to visual attention processes in youths who had maintained a binge drinking (BD) pattern of alcohol consumption for >2 years. METHODS: The participants were 57 university students (26 binge drinkers: BDs) with no personal or family history of alcoholism or psychopathological disorders in first-degree relatives. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded while participants performed a visual oddball task (twice within a 2-year interval). The latency and amplitude of the P3b component of the ERPs were analysed. RESULTS: The P3b amplitude was larger in young BDs than in aged-matched controls at both evaluation times, and the difference was more pronounced after 2 years of maintenance of a BD pattern of consumption. The larger P3b amplitude was associated with an earlier onset of regular drinking and with a greater quantity and intensity of consumption. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that young BDs exhibit anomalies in neural activity involved in attentional/working memory processes, which increase after 2 years of maintenance of BD. This anomalous neural activity may reflect underlying dysfunctions in neurophysiological mechanisms as well as the recruitment of additional attentional/working memory resources to enable the binge drinkers to perform the task adequately.

Language: en