Chronic effects of social drinking in a card-sorting task: an event related potential study.
OBJECTIVE
The Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST) is one of the most widely used neuropsychological tests of frontal lobe function, which is thought to be affected by regular alcohol use. The present study used a computer-adapted version of the WCST to assess the effects of chronic alcohol consumption on the brain.


METHODS
Participants (N=59) sorted cards according to an initially unknown sorting rule, which referred to shape, number, or color. The correctness of the chosen sorting rule was indicated by a feedback stimulus. This correct sorting rule had to be followed for a number of stimuli, and when it changed participants had to find out which rule had to be followed next. A distinction was made between early (correct sorting rule is unknown) and late trials (correct sorting rule is known and applied). To measure brain activity related during the task event related potentials (ERPs) were recorded to the target and feedback stimulus in light (N=14), moderate (N=16) and heavy (N=19) social drinkers and excessive alcohol users (N=10).


RESULTS
No differences in number of series completed or the reaction time in each trial, were found between the four groups. In contrast, a mid-frontal N1 component in reaction to the feedback stimuli did reveal differences between the four groups. In the light and moderate drinkers, on early feedback trials the N1 was larger relative to late feedback trials, but this effect was absent in the heavy social drinkers and excessive drinkers.


CONCLUSIONS
The reduced N1 effect with increasing alcohol intake could reflect abnormal allocation of attention or impaired conflict monitoring, possibly based on activity in the anterior cingulate cortex.


CONCLUSIONS
Heavy social drinking and excessive drinking leads to changes in the mid-frontal N1 during feedback trials of the WCST.
Bijl
Suzanne
S
Department of Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80082, 3508 TB Utrecht, The Netherlands. s.bijl@pharm.uu.nl
de Bruin
Eveline A
EA
Böcker
Koen B E
KB
Kenemans
J Leon
JL
Verbaten
Marinus N
MN
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D008606:Mental Processes; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011930:Reaction Time; D012919:Social Behavior; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D013997:Time Factors