S15-3EPISODIC MEMORY IN YOUNG BINGE DRINKERS: A NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH

Abstract

Young adults with alcohol use disorders exhibit hippocampal alterations and episodic memory deficits. However, little is known about how these difficulties progress in binge drinking (BD) adolescents. In this presentation, we will summarize the main results of a recently published study aimed at determining the relationship between BD trajectory and verbal episodic memory during the developmental period spanning from adolescence and to early adulthood. An initial sample of 155 (40 participants at the third follow-up) male and female first-year university students with no other risk factors were followed over six years. Participants were classified as stable non- BDs, stable BDs and ex-BDs according to the third AUDIT item. Episodic memory was assessed four times with the Logical Memory subtest (WMS-III) and the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). Generalized linear mixed models were applied. Relative to non-BDs, stable BDs presented difficulties in immediate and delayed recall in the Logical Memory subtest. These difficulties remained stable over time. The short-term ex-BDs continued to display difficulties in immediate and delayed recall in the Logical Memory subtest, but long-term ex-BDs did not. The effects were not influenced by age of alcohol onset, frequency of cannabis use, tobacco use or psychopathological distress. In conclusion, BD during adolescence and young adulthood is associated with episodic memory deficits, supporting the special vulnerability of the adolescent hippocampus to the neurotoxic effects of heavy drinking. In the long term, abandoning the BD pattern may lead to partial recovery. Finally, following the conclusions of a systematic review, we will briefly discuss the existent evidence regarding episodic memory and BD with a special emphasis in sex-differences.