title: Neurocognitive characteristics of DUI recidivists.
abstract: Individuals who drive under the influence (DUI) of alcohol may be at greater risk for neurocognitive impairment because of their exposure to multiple sources of neurological risk. This could contribute to the persistence of DUI behaviour and influence the effectiveness of remedial interventions. The objectives of this study were to clarify the neurocognitive characteristics of DUI recidivists and the nature of potential impairments, and to explore relationships between these characteristics and the frequency of past DUI convictions. One hundred male recidivists were evaluated for visuospatial constructional abilities and visual memory, verbal fluency, attention skills, cognitive flexibility, spatial planning, and verbal and movement inhibition. Results indicated that a majority of recidivists showed signs of neurocognitive impairment on several dimensions. Impairment was most marked on visuospatial constructional abilities and visual memory. In contrast to previous studies, no participants were found to have impulse control problems. Measures of memory and cognitive efficiency were significantly associated with the frequency of past convictions. Finally, exploratory analyses of two potential sources of impairment, alcohol exposure and head trauma, suggested the role of excessive alcohol use as the most obvious associated factor. Overall, the findings indicate that neurocognitive impairments are a common feature in recidivists and may contribute to DUI persistence. Development of a DUI-specific neurocognitive assessment and greater understanding of how neurocognitive status influences DUI risk could lead to remediation strategies better adapted to the individual characteristics of recidivists.
authors.affiliation: Douglas Hospital Research Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Marie Claude
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Ouimet
authors.forename: Thomas G
authors.initials: TG
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nadeau
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lepage
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pelletier
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Couture
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tremblay
authors.forename: Lucie
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Legault
authors.forename: Maurice
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dongier
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gianoulakis
authors.forename: N M K
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Ng Ying Kin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D020751:Alcohol-Induced Disorders; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000523:psychology*; D001288:Attention; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000523:psychology*; D003072:Cognition Disorders; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D012008:Recurrence; D013028:Space Perception; D014796:Visual Perception