Recoverability of psychological functioning following alcohol abuse: Prolonged visual–spatial dysfunction in older alcoholics.

In order to track neuropsychological recovery as a function of age more precisely than in prior studies, 31 alcoholics were divided into 3 age groups (20–29, 30–39, and ≥ 40 yrs) and administered a repeatable neuropsychological test battery for the 3 mo immediately following cessation of drinking. Two control groups (15 college students and 15 individuals ≥ age 40 yrs) were also tested to assess practice effects, optimal test performance, and age-related test performance. Prior research has shown the tests used are sensitive to alcohol-related dysfunction and other transient drug toxicity. A variety of alcohol consumption and demographic variables were also studied as predictors of performance deficits. Results show that (a) alcoholics below age 40 yrs recovered completely from functional impairment by 2–3 wks after drinking ceased, and (b) alcoholics aged ≥ 40 yrs failed to recover over 3 mo on some but not all visuo-spatial tasks. Results suggest that beyond 40 yrs, humans increase in vulnerability to the toxic effects of alcohol or are less able to compensate for impairment of the neurological substrate. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experience-dependent recovery of visuospatial functioning in older alcoholic persons.

Exposed 2 groups of alcoholic males to verbal and visuospatial paired-associate learning tasks known to be sensitive to alcohol dysfunction. Group 1, with 16 Ss (mean age 52.19 yrs), received 4 task administrations 3–4 days apart, beginning 4 days after drinking stopped. Group 2, with 14 Ss (mean age 49.79 yrs), received identical administration beginning 16 days after drinking stopped. An alternate form of the tasks was administered at the final session to assess transfer of training. Two matched nonalcoholic control groups of 12 Ss each (mean age 50.79 yrs) established normative performance on both forms of the tasks. Although the alcoholic Ss' verbal learning was unimpaired, visuospatial functioning was equally impaired initially in both alcoholic groups despite differing periods of abstinence, indicating the lack of time-dependent recovery. However, practice with the visuospatial task resulted in improved visuospatial performance and positive transfer of training not significantly different from normal Ss. It is suggested that since alcoholism treatment outcome is related to neuropsychological status, rehabilitation of cognitive functioning may improve treatment success. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Phonological memory and vocabulary development during the early school years: A longitudinal study.

The nature of the developmental association between phonological memory and vocabulary knowledge was explored in a longitudinal study. At each of 4 waves (at ages 4, 5, 6, and 8 yrs), measures of vocabulary, phonological memory, nonverbal intelligence, and reading were taken from 80 children. Comparisons of cross-lagged partial correlations revealed a significant shift in the causal underpinnings of the relationship between phonological memory and vocabulary development before and after 5 yrs of age. Between 4 and 5 yrs, phonological memory skills appeared to exert a direct causal influence on vocabulary acquisition. Subsequently, though, vocabulary knowledge became the major pacemaker in the developmental relationship, with the earlier influence of phonological memory on vocabulary development subsiding to a nonsignificant level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol and the brain: Neuropsychological correlates.

This review considers neuropsychological changes associated with alcohol abuse and touches on related neuropathological and neuroradiological research. Most neuropsychological research has been conducted with recently detoxified (1 month sober) alcoholic men, many of whom manifest deficits in abstracting ability, complex perceptual-motor skills, and learning and recall but demonstrate preserved verbal intelligence. Long-term abstinence (months to years) can be associated with slow recovery, suggesting the presence of intermediate-duration organic mental disorder. Animal research indicates that dendritic rearborization can occur after cessation of chronic ethanol exposure. A dose-effect relation between alcohol consumption variables and human neuropsychological performance has not been established. Sources of neuropsychological variability that might precede, coexist with, or be effects of excessive drinking include family history of alcoholism, developmental and neuromedical risk events, nutritional status, age, and education. A model illustrating the possible interrelations of these variables is presented, and a plea is made for assiduous care in subject selection and characterization as a prerequisite for further progress in understanding the long-term effects of alcohol on the brain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reversal theory and smoking: A state-based approach to ex-smokers' highly tempting situations.

Reversal theory provides a new approach to understanding ex-smokers' behavior during highly tempting situations. Hypotheses derived from the theory were tested in 2 studies of the highly tempting situations of ex-smokers drawn from community smoking cessation programs. Study 1 consisted of interviews with 55 Ss (25 men and 30 women, mean age 37 yrs) conducted 3 months after cessation. Study 2 consisted of interviews with 104 Ss (45 men and 59 women, mean age 41 yrs) conducted 6, 9, 12, and 15 months after cessation. All interviews were coded using reversal theory constructs. Results supported the hypotheses that individuals in paratelic or negativistic states were more likely to lapse than individuals in telic/conformist states and that cigarette availability was related to lapses in paratelic, but not telic, states. Reversal theory constructs accurately classified 93% and 85% of the cases, suggesting that the theory provides an improved model for understanding behavior during highly tempting situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's use of the keyword method to learn simple Spanish vocabulary words.

Assessed children's ability to use a mnemonic procedure to learn foreign language vocabulary, the keyword method, using 107 2nd and 5th graders as Ss. To remember a foreign word translation, the keyword method user (a) associates the foreign word to an English word (the keyword) that sounds like part of the foreign word, and (b) remembers a picture of the keyword and translation referents interacting. Ss who were instructed in keyword method use and provided with interactive pictures for each vocabulary item remembered more simple Spanish vocabulary translations than did control Ss not instructed to use the keyword method. Learning the acoustic links without a keyword method instruction did not improve vocabulary learning. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Associative learning and recognition memory in alcoholic Korsakoff patients.

Association learning and recognition memory were examined in 8 male alcoholic Korsakoff patients (mean age 58 yrs), and in the following 4 groups of 10 men: non-Korsakoff alcoholics (mean age 59 yrs), nonalcoholic controls (mean age 64 yrs), younger alcoholics (mean age 36 yrs), and nonalcoholic controls (mean age 37 yrs). The tasks were modeled after those used for testing memory functioning in nonhuman primates. Association learning, defined as the ability to distinguish rewarded from equally familiar nonrewarded visual stimuli, was impaired in Korsakoff patients. Korsakoff patients also were impaired on recognition memory—the ability to discriminate familiar from novel items. Results support the view of loss of multiple memory functions in alcoholic amnesia. An effect of aging was indicated by differences in performance levels between younger and older groups of non-Korsakoff participants, although the latter were superior to the Korsakoff patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do alcohol expectancies mediate drinking patterns of adults?

Compared the reinforcement expectancies of adult alcoholics with beliefs of 2 other adult populations. 171 participants (mean age 42.8 yrs) in alcohol treatment programs, 65 hospitalized medical patients (mean age 42.6 yrs), and 344 college students (mean age 24 yrs) identified their beliefs about the consequences of alcohol consumption through an alcohol expectancy questionnaire (AEQ). Results indicate that the previously defined AEQ beliefs among nonalcoholic populations identified by S. A. Brown et al (1980) and B. A. Christiansen et al (see record 1982-25609-001) are applicable to alcoholic populations. In the present study, nonalcoholics and alcoholics differed significantly in terms of their alcohol expectancies. In general, alcoholics were found to maintain strong alcohol expectancies, and expectancies increased across and within populations as a function of drinking patterns. Theoretical, research, and clinical implications of these findings and the AEQ are discussed. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Phonological short-term memory and new word learning in children.

Sixty-five 5-year old children participated in 4 experimental tasks of word learning that varied systematically in the amounts of phonological and nonphonological learning required. Measures of the children's performances on 2 measures of phonological memory (digit span and nonword repetition), vocabulary knowledge, and nonverbal ability were also obtained. Learning of the sound structures of new words was significantly, and to some degree independently, associated with aspects of both phonological memory skill and vocabulary knowledge. Learning of pairs of familiar words was linked with current vocabulary knowledge, although not with phonological memory scores. The findings suggest that both existing lexical knowledge and phonological short-term memory play significant roles in the long-term learning of the sounds of new words. The study also provides evidence of both shared and distinct processes contributing to nonword repetition and digit span tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discriminative utility of a brief cognitive status assessment with alcoholics and the impact of cognitive status on acquisition of treatment-relevant information.

Assessed the discriminative utility of a brief assessment procedure for quantifying cognitive status in alcoholics and the impact of existing cognitive status on acquisition of information presented during treatment. 112 male patients (aged 20–77 yrs), consecutively admitted to an inpatient alcohol treatment program, were assessed at admission and discharge. The 30-min assessment protocol included the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Task (M. D. Lezak, 1983), portions of the Wechsler Memory Scale, and a brief structured interview that assessed treatment-relevant knowledge. These measures were able to differentiate performance levels related to age and drinking history. Recent drinking behavior and cognitive function may only moderately influence acquisition of treatment program content. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Secondary prevention with college drinkers: Evaluation of an alcohol skills training program.

This study evaluated secondary prevention approaches for young adults (N?=?36, mean age 23 yrs) at risk for alcohol problems. Ss were randomly assigned to cognitive-behavioral alcohol skills training, a didactic alcohol information program, or assessment only. The skills program included training in blood alcohol level estimation, limit setting, and relapse prevention skills. All Ss maintained daily drinking records during the 8-wk intervention and for 1 wk at each follow-up. Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) found a significant reduction over 1-yr follow-up in self-reported alcohol consumption for the total sample. For all drinking measures, the directional findings consistently favored skills training. Despite overall reductions, most Ss continued to report occasional heavy drinking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Critical periods for the effects of alcohol exposure on learning in rats.

Critical periods for alcohol-induced deficits in spatial navigation and passive avoidance learning were investigated with a rat model of fetal alcohol syndrome. Rats were exposed to alcohol prenatally (Gestational Days 1–10 or 11–22) or postnatally (Postnatal Days 2–10) or throughout all 3 periods. Offspring were tested in either a spatial navigation or an avoidance task as juveniles or adults. As juveniles, the combined exposure group took longer to learn the spatial navigation task compared with all other groups. This effect was not seen in adults. Passive avoidance performance was not affected. These results suggest that long-term exposure to alcohol during development has adverse effects on spatial learning. The lack of differences in the short-term exposure groups implies that there may not be 1 critical period of alcohol exposure, but that the adverse effects of alcohol during development may be cumulative on some behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expectancies versus background in the prediction of college drinking patterns.

Examined the alcohol expectancies of 321 17–40 yr old undergraduates as a function of Ss' drinking patterns and Ss' expectancies to demographic/background variables for their ability to predict problematic and nonproblematic drinking patterns. Ss completed a demographic data sheet, alcohol expectancy questionnaire, and customary drinking record. Factor analysis of Ss' self-reported drinking yielded 3 drinking styles: nonproblematic social drinking, frequent drinking with alcohol-related problems, and contextually determined alcohol consumption. Optimal alcohol expectancy and demographic/background predictors of each drinking style were selected and compared via multiple regression procedures. Predictor equation efficiency was then examined in a new cross-validation sample of 176 Ss. Results indicate that alcohol expectancies increased the predictability of college drinking patterns and that alcohol expectancies were differentially related to problematic and nonproblematic features of college drinking. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learning rate equivalency of two narcotic gases.

Two groups of US Navy divers were tested for (a) digit span forward and backward and (b) simple and difficult paired-associate learning while breathing normal air or a narcotic gas (nitrous oxide or hyperbaric nitrogen). The 1st group of 21 divers (mean age 30.3 yrs) breathed 30% nitrous oxide (N?O), and the 2nd groups of 11 divers (mean age 30.0 yrs) breathed hyperbaric nitrogen (Hyper N?) at a simulated ocean depth of 65 m. The 2 forms of the digit span and paired-associate measures were from the Wechsler Memory Scale and were administered in a counterbalanced fashion between normal and narcotic conditions. Forward and backward digit span remained normal during N?O and Hyper N? narcosis, whereas simple and difficult paired-associate learning was impaired uniformly and significantly by both of the narcotic gases. Results indicate that the long-term memory effects of these 2 narcotic gases are similar and that the narcotic properties of both gases may be equivalent. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Delay discrimination and reversal eyeblink classical conditioning in abstinent chronic alcoholics.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 23(2) of Neuropsychology (see record 2009-02621-003). The lifetime drinking data listed in Table 1 on p. 198 was not correctly calculated and underestimated lifetime exposure to alcohol. The corrected lifetime variables from that table are included.] Evidence has shown that alcoholism leads to volume reductions in brain regions critical for associative learning using the eyeblink classical conditioning paradigm (EBCC). Evidence indicates that cerebellar shrinkage causes impairment in simple forms of EBCC, whereas changes in forebrain structures result in impairment in more complex tasks. In this study, the ability of abstinent alcoholics and matched control participants to acquire learned responses during delay discrimination and discrimination reversal was examined and related to severity of drinking history and neuropsychological performance. During discrimination learning, one tone (CS+) predicted the occurrence of an airpuff (unconditioned stimulus), and another tone (CS-) served as a neutral stimulus; then the significance of the tones was reversed. Alcoholics who learned the initial discrimination were impaired in acquiring the new CS+ after the tones reversed; this is a function that has previously been linked to forebrain structures. It is suggested that a factor important to alcoholic addiction may be the presence of alcoholic-related associative responses that interfere with the ability to learn new more adaptive associations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental changes across childhood in the perception of non-native speech sounds.

Tested 12 English-speaking children at each of 3 ages (4, 8, and 12 yrs) on 3 speech contrasts of English and Hindi sounds. As a control procedure, 2 bilingual Hindi–English speaking children (aged 4 and 5 yrs) were also tested. Results show that the loss of ability to discriminate the nonnative (Hindi) speech contrasts was evident by 4 yrs of age, suggesting that important reorganizations in linguistic perceptual abilities occur in early childhood. Results support the notion that learning a 2nd language may not necessarily be easier in young childhood. (French abstract) (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of external correlates of MMPI substance abuse scales across sex and race.

Examined the differential predictive accuracy of 7 MMPI Alcoholism scales and 2 Drug Abuse scales across both sex and race in a sample of alcoholic inpatients. Ss included 69 Black males (mean age 33.1 yrs), 43 White males (mean age 33.5 yrs), 25 Black females (mean age 38.1 yrs), and 34 White females (mean age 38 yrs). Results demonstrate considerable variance among the scales in their ability to predict alcohol and other drug use, expectancies, and consequences. Predictive accuracy within scales also varied across the 4 sex–race subgroups. (l9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The feeling of knowing experience in educable retarded children.

Required 50 educable retarded children to predict their recognition accuracy when recall failed. Ss were divided into 3 ability levels: (a) old Ss (mean CA 13.25 yrs, mean MA 10.5 yrs), (b) medium Ss (mean CA 11.25 yrs, mean MA 8.75 yrs), and (c) young Ss (mean CA 9 yrs 5 mo, mean MA 6 yrs 9 mo). Results indicate that old and medium Ss could reliably predict their recognition accuracy, suggesting sensitivity to their own feeling of knowing experience, but that the young Ss showed no evidence of this sensitivity. Even though the young Ss had difficulty predicting their recognition accuracy in advance they were able to estimate the success or failure of their responses after they had occurred. Results are discussed in terms of the complexity of the metamemory judgment required, and the advisability of evaluating metamemorial knowledge across several situations is emphasized. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Broad-spectrum behavioral treatment for chronic alcoholics: Effects of training controlled drinking skills.

Evaluated drinking skills training for 62 male chronic alcoholic veterans (mean age 46.1 yrs) by assigning 10 successive cohorts to trained or untrained conditions in a randomized block experimental design. All Ss received broad-spectrum behavioral treatment consisting of alcohol education, group therapy, individual therapy, self-management training, job-seeking and interpersonal-skills training, drink-refusal-skills training, and relaxation training. Cohorts assigned to the controlled drinking skills condition received 15 hrs of blood-alcohol-level discrimination training, responsible-drinking-skills training, and social-drinking practice sessions. Six-month posttreatment follow-up revealed that Ss in the drinking skills condition had significantly fewer abstinent days and more abusive drinking days than Ss in the untrained condition. Differences between groups were not significant in follow-up Months 7–22, although trends continued. No differences were obtained on moderate drinking days or any adjunctive measures of psychosocial adjustment. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Statistical regularities in vocabulary guide language acquisition in connectionist models and 15-20-month-olds.

This research tested the hypothesis that young children's bias to generalize names for solid objects by shape is the product of statistical regularities among nouns in the early productive vocabulary. Data from a 4-layer Hopfield network suggested that the statistical regularities in the early noun vocabulary are strong enough to create a shape bias, and that the shape bias is overgeneralized to nonsolid stimuli. A 2nd simulation suggested that this overgeneralization is due to the dominance of names for shape-based categories in the early noun vocabulary. Two subsequent longitudinal experiments tested whether it is possible to create word learning biases in children. Children 15-20 months old were given intensive naming experiences with 12 noun categories typical of the types of categories children learn to name early. The children developed a precocious shape bias that was overgeneralized to naming nonsolid substances; they also showed accelerated vocabulary development. Children taught an atypical set of nouns or no new nouns did not develop a shape bias and did not show accelerated vocabulary development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)