Josef Rabl, Dieter Geyer, Dario Kroll, Fabrizio Schifano, Norbert Scherbaum
{"title":"Neuropsychological Abnormalities Associated with Alcohol Dependence During Long-Term Rehabilitation Treatment of German Inpatients.","authors":"Josef Rabl, Dieter Geyer, Dario Kroll, Fabrizio Schifano, Norbert Scherbaum","doi":"10.3390/brainsci14111160","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Alcohol dependence is associated with several neuropsychological abnormalities, such as increased impulsivity or attentional bias towards drug-related stimuli. However, it is debated whether these abnormalities are on the decline after long-term abstinence from alcohol. Inpatient rehabilitation treatment enables the longitudinal investigation of such variables during a long, largely secured, period of abstinence.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study involved alcohol-dependent patients consecutively admitted for a duration of 14-26 weeks to an inpatient rehabilitation treatment center located in a hospital specializing in substance use disorders. Craving and impulsivity were assessed with the means of two questionnaires (e.g., OCDS-G and BIS-11); conversely, attentional bias and problems with inhibition were measured with the help of two computer-based experiments (e.g., dot-probe task and stop-signal-reaction task). Investigations were conducted at entry, after 6 weeks, and during the last two weeks of the inpatient treatment.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 130 patients with alcohol dependence (mean age 43.3 years; 78.5% male) completed the first, <i>N</i> = 102 the second, and <i>N</i> = 83 the final assessment. Over the whole period of inpatient treatment, there was a significant decrease in patients' scores for both craving (t(83) = 7.8, <i>p</i> < 0.001) and impulsivity (t(82) = -3.75, <i>p</i> < 0.001, t(82) = 4.4, <i>p</i> < 0.001). However, there were no significant changes regarding attentional bias (t(82) = 0.16, <i>p</i> = 0.494) and inhibitory control (t(76) = 0.04, <i>p</i> = 0.482) scores.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Neuropsychological abnormalities associated with alcohol dependence might persist even after a long abstinence period. The decrease in both craving and impulsivity levels may be explained by the protected, alcohol-free, hospital environment; however, patients' risk of post-discharge relapse may remain high, as the basic neurobiological mechanisms of alcohol dependence may persist for long periods, and possibly for more than 3-6 months.</p>","PeriodicalId":9095,"journal":{"name":"Brain Sciences","volume":"14 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Brain Sciences","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci14111160","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"NEUROSCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Alcohol dependence is associated with several neuropsychological abnormalities, such as increased impulsivity or attentional bias towards drug-related stimuli. However, it is debated whether these abnormalities are on the decline after long-term abstinence from alcohol. Inpatient rehabilitation treatment enables the longitudinal investigation of such variables during a long, largely secured, period of abstinence.
Methods: This study involved alcohol-dependent patients consecutively admitted for a duration of 14-26 weeks to an inpatient rehabilitation treatment center located in a hospital specializing in substance use disorders. Craving and impulsivity were assessed with the means of two questionnaires (e.g., OCDS-G and BIS-11); conversely, attentional bias and problems with inhibition were measured with the help of two computer-based experiments (e.g., dot-probe task and stop-signal-reaction task). Investigations were conducted at entry, after 6 weeks, and during the last two weeks of the inpatient treatment.
Results: A total of 130 patients with alcohol dependence (mean age 43.3 years; 78.5% male) completed the first, N = 102 the second, and N = 83 the final assessment. Over the whole period of inpatient treatment, there was a significant decrease in patients' scores for both craving (t(83) = 7.8, p < 0.001) and impulsivity (t(82) = -3.75, p < 0.001, t(82) = 4.4, p < 0.001). However, there were no significant changes regarding attentional bias (t(82) = 0.16, p = 0.494) and inhibitory control (t(76) = 0.04, p = 0.482) scores.
Conclusions: Neuropsychological abnormalities associated with alcohol dependence might persist even after a long abstinence period. The decrease in both craving and impulsivity levels may be explained by the protected, alcohol-free, hospital environment; however, patients' risk of post-discharge relapse may remain high, as the basic neurobiological mechanisms of alcohol dependence may persist for long periods, and possibly for more than 3-6 months.
期刊介绍：
Brain Sciences (ISSN 2076-3425) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that publishes original articles, critical reviews, research notes and short communications in the areas of cognitive neuroscience, developmental neuroscience, molecular and cellular neuroscience, neural engineering, neuroimaging, neurolinguistics, neuropathy, systems neuroscience, and theoretical and computational neuroscience. Our aim is to encourage scientists to publish their experimental and theoretical results in as much detail as possible. There is no restriction on the length of the papers. The full experimental details must be provided so that the results can be reproduced. Electronic files or software regarding the full details of the calculation and experimental procedure, if unable to be published in a normal way, can be deposited as supplementary material.
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号
