A study of prospective memory in the inpatients with abstinent male alcoho1 dependence

Abstract

Objective To investigate the event-based prospective memory(EBPM)and time-based prospective memory(TBPM)in the inpatients with abstinent alcoho1 dependence and the relationships between prospective memory and symptoms. Methods 32 male patients with alcoho1 dependence and 30 normal controls matched by age, education, HAMD and HAMA were assessed with a neuropsychological battery of tests including EBPM and TBPM tasks. Results A statistically significant in EBPM was observed between patients with alcoho1 dependence and normal controls (3.91±0.69 vs. 4.47±0.63, t=-3.348, P<0.01) and the same result in TBPM (3.28±0.77 vs. 4.20±0.66, t=-5.032, P<0.01). The positively correlation was showed between the duration of abstinence and EBPM (r=0.444, P<0.05), as well as TBPM (r=0.423, P<0.05) in the patients. Conclusion The results suggest abstinent alcoho1 dependence patients impairs both EBPM and TBPM. PM shows correlated with duration of abstinence moderately in the patients. Key words: Alcohol dependence; Prospective memory; Neuropsychology