The Evaluation of Cognitive Impairment in Alcohol-Dependent Patients Through RBANS Combined With ERPs.

Hui Cao,Jun Yang,Chao Hou,Xuejun Liu,Xiafeng Zhou,Xiaoyun Cao,Saiping Huang,Mei Zhang,Wei Zhang,Xuhui Zhou,Zhenguang Li,Jia Bin Xu

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.598835

Abstract

Background: Recently, the cognitive impairment of patients with alcohol dependence has attracted more and more attention. The combination of Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) and event-related potentials (ERPs) for evaluating the degree of cognitive impairment in patients with alcohol dependence has not undergone enough in-depth investigation.Method: Sixty patients with alcohol dependence were selected as alcohol-dependence group, whereas 40 healthy volunteers served as a normal control group. The original scores of the RBANS sub-items, the incubation period, and volatility of ERPs between the two groups were compared, and the correlation among the above indicators in the alcohol-dependence group was further analyzed.Results: The RBANS test showed that the original scores of speech function, attention function, delayed memory, and immediate attention in the alcohol-dependence group were significantly lower than those in the normal control group. Compared with the normal control group, the latencies of P200 and P300 in the alcohol-dependence group were significantly prolonged, and the amplitude of P200 and P300 was significantly reduced. Correlation analysis between RBANS and ERPs in alcohol-dependence group showed that immediate attention score was positively correlated with P300 and P200 amplitude, visual breadth score was positively correlated with P200 latency, and attention function score was negatively correlated with P300 latency.Conclusion: As RBANS scale was highly correlated with the results of ERPs, the combined use of these two scales may serve as an objective basis for early diagnosis of cognitive impairment in patients with alcohol dependence.

Highlights

Alcohol is a neurosuppressant that passes through the blood– brain barrier with a neurotoxic effect
The alcoholdependence group had an average age at first drinking of 16.83 ± 2.14 years, an average daily drinking of 217.7 ± 32.63 g/d alcohol, average alcohol dependence years of 11.30 ± 6.94 years, and an average alcohol dependence questionnaire score of 20.13 ± 6.21
The results show that the incubation period of P300 in the alcohol-dependence group is significantly longer than that of the normal control group (Figure 1B; t = −6.986, P = 0.000)

Summary

Introduction

Alcohol is a neurosuppressant that passes through the blood– brain barrier with a neurotoxic effect. Long-term alcohol use disorder (AUD) leads to lower blood flow to the frontal lobe, hippocampus, decreased oxygen metabolism, and reduced volume, which eventually leads to neuronal damage. This is the main cause of behavioral changes and cognitive impairment in clinically dependent patients [1, 2]. Detection of cognitive impairment in patients and early intervention can effectively delay the progression of disease in alcohol-dependent people. The combination of Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) and event-related potentials (ERPs) for evaluating the degree of cognitive impairment in patients with alcohol dependence has not undergone enough in-depth investigation

Methods

Results

Conclusion