Parental alcoholism and the effects of alcohol on mediated semantic priming.
In this study, researchers tested the effects of a moderate dose of alcohol on the spread of activation of associated information in memory using a mediated semantic priming task in which target words are preceded by primes that are either unrelated or indirectly related to the target. Male and female participants with or without a parental history (PH+ and PH-, respectively) of alcoholism were administered the priming task after consuming alcohol or a placebo beverage. Among PH- individuals, alcohol constrained the spread of activation of associated information, as manifested by a reduced priming effect. In contrast, alcohol enhanced priming effects among PH+ participants, though this latter effect appears to be due to a particularly slow response among these individuals to unprimed words. Results are discussed with regard to theories of alcohol's effects on cognitive processes.
Sayette
M A
MA
Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA. sayette+@pitt.edu
Martin
C S
CS
Perrott
M A
MA
Wertz
J M
JM
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000523:psychology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology*; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011932:Reading; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000187:drug effects*