title: The effects of heavy social drinking on executive function: a systematic review and meta-analytic study of existing literature and new empirical findings.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous investigations of executive function in alcohol dependent and in social drinkers have not always produced consistent results and have not utilised key indicators of recent theoretical models of Executive Function (EF). The present paper reports the results of two studies that seek to address these limitations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Study 1 took the form of a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies examining EF in social drinkers. In Study 2, 41 participants completed an alcohol use inventory and were assigned to either light or heavy alcohol use via median split of average weekly dose. Participants completed measures of the fractionated executive processes of updating, shifting, inhibition and access to semantic memory.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Study 1 only identified seven studies of EF in social drinkers, and the mean effect size was non-significant. In study 2, the heavy alcohol use group performed worse on all measures of executive functioning except memory updating.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To our knowledge, this is the first systematic investigation of executive functioning in social drinkers. Given that the participants were non-treatment seeking social drinking students, the EF deficit in the heavy user group is particularly worrying and could increase the likelihood of developing an alcohol use disorder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, School of Natural Sciences & Psychology, Liverpool, UK. c.a.montgomery@ljmu.ac.uk
authors.forename: Catharine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Montgomery
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Fisk
authors.forename: Philip N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Ida
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ryland
authors.forename: Joanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hilton
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000453:epidemiology; D019973:Alcohol-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects; D012919:Social Behavior
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol