The Impairment of Prospective Memory by Alcohol Use: Antecedents and Mechanisms

doi:10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20240202

Abstract

Abstract: Prospective memory refers to the ability to remember to perform a delayed intention at an appropriate time or situation in the future, such as remembering to return a book to the library tomorrow morning or to take a daily medication. Memory failures that occur in the future generate more problems in daily life than memory failures that occur in the past. It has been found that 50~70 percent of real-life memory failures can be attributed to failures in prospective memory. The completion of most activities in daily life is closely related to prospective memory. Previous studies have typically investigated prospective memory using a dual-task paradigm, which included both prospective memory and ongoing tasks. Alcohol is one of the most widely used drugs and has been shown to play a complicated role in mental health and society. The association between alcohol use and cognitive function has drawn attention, and the adverse effects of alcohol use on cognitive function are well-documented. Alcohol use can damage the brain structure and cognitive function, and reduce the individual’s prospective memory performance. More generally, the study of prospective memory failures under alcohol is important to health behavior since many interventions targeted at non-dependent drinkers rely, to some extent, on prospective memory.
The relation between alcohol use and prospective memory is influenced by many factors, including alcohol use patterns and doses, other substance abuse, differences in research measures, and types of prospective memory. Successful completion of prospective memory relies on the coordinated functioning of the subcomponents of executive function (working memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility). Individuals firstly encode and store prospective memory intentions. When prospective memory cues appear, individuals need to retrieve prospective memory intentions, inhibit the ongoing task, remember the task rules and the responses, and flexibly switch from the ongoing task to the prospective memory task. The cognitive mechanisms through which alcohol use affects prospective memory are mainly related to executive function and attentional systems. In terms of neurological mechanisms, where alcohol use affects prospective memory involves the prefrontal and parieto-occipital cortex, the limbic system (hippocampus, anterior cingulate gyrus, and superior colliculus), cerebral cortical, and medullary substance. A systematic analysis of the factors influencing the relation between alcohol use and prospective memory and a summary of the mechanisms through which alcohol use affects prospective memory is of great value. It may inform interventions efforts that aim to improve the performance of prospective memory in clinical samples of alcohol use in the future.
Future research can investigate the effects of alcohol use on prospective memory components by experimental isolation and the separation of prospective memory processing phases in combination with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) brain imaging techniques to understand the specific mechanisms of alcohol use on different prospective memory processing phases. In addition, future research should focus on the differences and improvements in research methods and on factors that improve prospective memory in clinical samples of alcohol use.

Key words: alcohol use, prospective memory, executive functions

摘要： 日常生活中绝大多数活动的完成都与前瞻记忆存在密切联系。酒精摄入会损伤大脑结构和认知功能,降低个体前瞻记忆表现。酒精摄入与前瞻记忆的关系受诸多因素影响,主要包括酒精摄入模式和剂量、其他物质滥用、测量方式以及前瞻记忆类型。酒精摄入影响前瞻记忆的认知机制主要涉及执行功能和注意系统。神经机制方面,酒精摄入影响前瞻记忆的脑区包括前额叶、顶枕叶、边缘系统（海马、前扣带回、上丘脑）、大脑皮质和髓质等。未来研究可进一步揭示酒精摄入对前瞻记忆成分及各加工阶段的影响,重视研究方法的差异和改进,关注改善临床酒精摄入人群前瞻记忆的因素。

关键词: 酒精摄入, 前瞻记忆, 执行功能

Xin Cong, Wang Haoyuan, Zhang Xinyu, Lu Dongfeng. The Impairment of Prospective Memory by Alcohol Use: Antecedents and Mechanisms[J]. Journal of Psychological Science, 2024, 47(2): 267-273.

辛聪, 汪浩远, 张歆瑜, 卢东峰. 酒精摄入对前瞻记忆的损伤：影响因素及作用机制[J]. 心理科学, 2024, 47(2): 267-273.

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