title: Differential impairments across attentional networks in binge drinking.
abstract: The cognitive deficits observed in young binge drinkers have been largely documented during the last decade. Yet, these earlier studies have mainly focused on high-level cognitive abilities (particularly memory and executive functions), and uncertainty thus still abounds regarding the integrity of less complex cognitive processes in binge drinking. This is particularly true for attentional abilities, which play a crucial role in behavior regulation and are impaired in other alcohol-related disorders.
  
  
  
  To specify the attentional deficits associated with binge drinking, two groups of university students (40 binge drinkers and 40 matched controls) performed the Attention Network Task, a theoretically grounded test assessing three independent attentional networks: alerting, orienting, and executive control.
  
  
  
  Binge drinkers displayed preserved orienting performance but impaired alerting and executive control. Binge drinking is thus not related to a general attentional impairment but rather to specific impairments of the alerting and executive control networks.
  
  
  
  These results underline that, beyond the already explored high-level deficits, binge drinking is also related to impairments for attentional abilities. In view of the role played by attentional impairments in alcohol dependence, the present data also suggest that rehabilitation programs should be developed to improve attentional abilities at the early stages of alcohol-related disorders.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Experimental Psychopathology, Psychological Science Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, 10 Place du Cardinal Mercier, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors.forename: Séverine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lannoy
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Harvard University, 1230 William James Hall, 33 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA.
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heeren
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Experimental Psychopathology, Psychological Science Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, 10 Place du Cardinal Mercier, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Moyaerts
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Experimental Psychopathology, Psychological Science Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, 10 Place du Cardinal Mercier, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bruneau
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Experimental Psychopathology, Psychological Science Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, 10 Place du Cardinal Mercier, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors.forename: Salomé
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Evrard
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Experimental Psychopathology, Psychological Science Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, 10 Place du Cardinal Mercier, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors.forename: Joël
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Billieux
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Experimental Psychopathology, Psychological Science Research Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, 10 Place du Cardinal Mercier, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. pierre.maurage@uclouvain.be.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maurage
mesh_terms: D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology; D001288:Attention / Q000187:drug effects*; D063425:Binge Drinking / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009949:Orientation / Q000187:drug effects; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Alcohol dependence; Alerting; Attentional abilities; Binge drinking; Executive control; Orienting