The etiology of fragmentary blackouts: Memory processes and neural activations

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The current proposal will examine the differences in individuals who have and have not experienced an alcohol-induced blackout by assessing memory processes when sober and intoxicated, and more importantly, explore the differences in neural activations associated with memory processes when sober and intoxicated. Previous research indicates that certain individuals may be more vulnerable to alcohol-induced blackouts than others (Baer et al., 2003; Hartzler & Fromme, 2003), and after alcohol exposure, individuals who have experienced an alcohol-induced blackout show greater memory impairments than those who have not experienced alcohol-induced blackouts. To examine this phenomenon and to better understand alcohol's effects on the brain, the proposed research uses a variety of methods, including standardized alcohol administrations and fMRI to make between-subjects comparisons, (i.e. blackout history positive versus blackout history negative) and within-subject comparisons (e.g. sober versus intoxicated performance and neural activations). As a replication and extension of preliminary findings, Study 1 will use participants from a NIAAA-funded study to assess memory performance before and after an alcohol administration (i.e., alcohol vs. no alcohol). Based on the findings from Study 1, Study 2 will use a source memory task and a standardized alcohol administration with functional magnetic resonance imaging. Specifically, Study 2 will (a) evaluate the effect of a standardized alcohol administration on behavioral performance and neural activation during source memory tasks; (b) examine the influence of alcohol-induced blackouts on the neural activity associated with both encoding and retrieval; (c) evaluate prefrontally mediated strategic memory processes (i.e., source memory) to see whether alcohol impairments are more severe in individuals with a history of alcohol-induced blackouts. The proposed research is relevant to public health because college students use alcohol more than any other drug and appear to be particularly vulnerable to the negative consequences associated with alcohol use. Furthermore, research is limited on alcohol-induced blackouts, and the proposed research will provide a better understanding of mechanisms underlying alcohol-induced blackouts and changes in brain function as a result of acute alcohol exposure using imaging technology and a standardized alcohol administrations.