Abstract
Background: This study examines the interaction between a history of binge drinking (BD), alone or with cannabis consumption, and the effects of acute alcohol exposure on immediate visual memory (IVM) (faces memory task, scenes memory task and IVM-IQ) in adolescents of both sexes.Method: Two hundred and ninety adolescents, grouped into refrainers, binge drinkers and subjects with a history of simultaneous BD/Cannabis co-use, received a risk dose of alcohol or a control drink.Results: Consumption Pattern (refrainers vs. binge drinkers vs. BD/Cannabis consumers) was not significant, while Treatment (acute alcohol vs. control drink) was significant in both sexes. Also, male binge drinkers' performance in the faces memory task was poorer than that of refrainers and BD/Cannabis consumers who consumed the control drink. BD/Cannabis consumers performed this task as capably as refrainers. In women, binge drinkers performed better than refrainers in scene memory and IVM-IQ tests when given alcohol, and binge drinkers performed worse than refrainers after consuming the control drink.Conclusions: Acute alcohol consumption worsens IVM. Cannabis exerts a buffering effect in men. A cognitive tolerance effect is observed in women. Exposure during adolescence to alcohol, alone or with cannabis, can trigger different cognitive effects in men and women that could endure into adulthood.
Highlights
We have previously observed differential effects of alcohol on memory performance in adolescent binge drinkers, with immediate visual memory (IVM) proving to be sensitive to impairment by alcohol [1, 2]
The prevalent pattern of alcohol use among adolescents and young adults in Western countries is binge drinking (BD), which has been defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) as a pattern of drinking that raises a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.8 g/L or above [3]
A plausible explanation for the lack of effects reported with BACs under 0.8 g/L [e.g., [8,9,10]] is that the brain of binge drinkers employs compensatory mechanisms in additional brain areas in order to perform tasks adequately, and that these resources are undermined by higher BACs [e.g., [11]]
Summary
We have previously observed differential effects of alcohol on memory performance in adolescent binge drinkers, with immediate visual memory (IVM) proving to be sensitive to impairment by alcohol [1, 2]. The prevalent pattern of alcohol use among adolescents and young adults in Western countries is binge drinking (BD), which has been defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) as a pattern of drinking that raises a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.8 g/L or above [3]. This pattern is characterized by intermittent consumption of large quantities of alcohol in short periods at intervals of between 1 week and 1 month and alternation between intoxication and withdrawal [4,5,6]. This study examines the interaction between a history of binge drinking (BD), alone or with cannabis consumption, and the effects of acute alcohol exposure on immediate visual memory (IVM) (faces memory task, scenes memory task and IVM-IQ) in adolescents of both sexes
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