title: Decision making and impulsiveness in abstinent alcohol-dependent people and healthy individuals: a neuropsychological examination.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Alcohol dependence is associated with deficits in decision making and increased impulsiveness. Therefore, we compared decision making in abstinent alcohol-dependent people ("abstainers") and matched healthy individuals ("comparison group") to determine whether impulsiveness or personality traits play a role in decision making.
  
  
  METHODS
  Abstainers (n = 40) were recruited from treatment facilities in and around Munich, Germany, and the comparison group (n = 40) through personal contacts and social media. We assessed decision making with the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), impulsiveness with the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) and personality traits with the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The comparison group performed significantly better in the IGT (mean profit € 159.50, SD 977.92) than the abstainers (mean loss - € 1,400.13, SD 1,362.10; p < .001) and showed significantly less impulsiveness in the BIS-11 (comparison group: mean 56.03, SD 7.80; abstainers: mean 63.55, SD 11.47; p < .001). None of the five personality traits assessed with the NEO-FFI differed significantly between the groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results confirm that abstinent alcohol-dependent people do not perform as well as healthy individuals in decision-making tasks and show greater impulsiveness, but in this study did not affect their decision-making ability.
authors.affiliation: Algesiologikum GmbH, Heßstrasse 22, 80799, Munich, Germany. koerner@algesiologikum.de.
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Körner
authors.affiliation: Privatklinik Meiringen, Postfach 612, Willigen, CH-3680, Meiringen, Switzerland. peggy.schmidt@privatklinik-meiringen.ch.
authors.forename: Peggy
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Privatklinik Meiringen, Postfach 612, Willigen, CH-3680, Meiringen, Switzerland. michael.soyka@privatklinik-meiringen.ch.|Department of Psychiatry, Ludwig Maximilian University, Nussbaumstr. 7, 80336, Munich, Germany. michael.soyka@privatklinik-meiringen.ch.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soyka
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D064829:Alcohol Abstinence / Q000523:psychology*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology*; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010551:Personality