Posted by AMD on December 21, 2004, at 0:30:22
In reply to Re: Alcohol and antidepressants ANYONE?? » AMD, posted by King Vultan on December 20, 2004, at 23:53:08
What I find interesting are the studies that show little or no cognitive impairment in verbal or linguistic functioning in heavy alcohol abusers, but definite executive functioning and memory impairment from long-term alcohol abuse. Whether these effects are reversible is unclear, but there are measurable deficits. Thus, often, one may seem as intelligent as ever in conversation and/or writing, but may actually be suffering in areas requiring executive function, such as planning and execution of tasks. (Though in writing this, I'm starting to question the validity of these statements! Jibba jabba!)
I guess my primary question is whether such deficits can be seen after short-term alcohol consumption, particular binge drinking episodes, and whether these are also long-term and, if present, reversible.
I notice many studies define 'binge drinking' based on the number of consecutive drinks, with little regard to the time between drinks or number of hours spent drinking. I would think five shots over three-four hours is not bingeing (although "five or more drinks" is frequently included in the definition in the literature), whereas five or more drinks in, say, an hour or less would be considered so. (It might be more accurate, in fact, to measure BAL average over a time-period, rate of increase/decrease, and other BAL-related factors rather than simply the number of drinks. But, I have not seen a definition using such in the studies I've reviewed.)
amd
poster:AMD
thread:431879
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20041217/msgs/432324.html