Cognitive control deficits in alcoholism risk

急性酒精中毒经常导致各种形式的失调反应，包括 攻击，性行为和其他冒险行为，情绪反应的改变，甚至是明显的暂时性的， 对酒精使用本身失去控制。许多例子中，酒精中毒导致这些 失调反应的特点是强烈但不适当的反应之间的冲突， 倾向和不相容的替代反应，更适应但更弱。同样，酒精 依赖者经常经历围绕他们的酒精使用的冲突或矛盾心理， 有证据表明，他们的注意力功能可能会受到损害，而注意力功能是适应环境所必需的。 解决围绕酒精使用的冲突。事实上，许多理论家推测， 注意力机制，占急性影响的酒精挑战，也可能是慢性的 在有物质使用和其他外化障碍的个体中受损。此外，注意力受损 可能代表了一种发病前的病因风险机制，该机制导致了饮酒风险的增加 有酗酒家族史的个体中的疾病。这项研究的目的是确认和 阐明酒精挑战和酒精中毒家族史对注意功能的影响， 检查行为和情绪反应调节的潜在损害的后果。 最近的理论和基础认知神经科学研究有显着的进步和完善， 了解注意力过程和潜在的神经生物学结构， 在冲突中的行为和情绪反应的适应性调节。这项基础研究 注意力系统的已识别的离散功能，包括保持警觉状态、感觉、 定向和执行控制功能，负责控制认知操作。特别是， 执行控制注意力（及其子成分;评价控制和调节控制）是克服的关键 情境适应不良，强烈和/或习惯性反应。这一理论和研究提供了 为醉酒和家族史阳性患者的注意功能研究奠定了基础 个体五个拟议的实验将使用电生理措施（例如，事件相关脑 潜力）和有效的认知范式，旨在系统地索引离散的组成部分， 注意功能。这将允许调解测试，以确定是否预测酒精挑战和家庭 酒精中毒史对行为和情绪调节的影响是注意功能受损的结果。

Acute alcohol intoxication frequently results in various forms of dysregulated responding including aggression, sexual and other risk taking, alterations in emotional response, and even apparent temporary loss of control over alcohol use itself. Many examples in which alcohol intoxication results in these dysregulated responses are characterized by conflict between strong, but inappropriate, response tendencies and incompatible alternative responses that are more adaptive yet weaker. Similarly, alcohol dependent users frequently experience conflict or ambivalence surrounding their alcohol use and preliminary evidence suggests that they may be impaired in the attention functions that are necessary to adaptively resolve conflict surrounding their alcohol use. In fact, many theorists have speculated that the same attention mechanisms that account for the acute effects of alcohol challenge may also be chronically impaired in individuals with substance use and other externalizing disorders. Moreover, impaired attention may represent a premorbid etiological risk mechanism which accounts for the increased risk for alcohol use disorders among individuals with a family history of alcoholism. The aim of this research is to confirm and clarify the nature of alcohol challenge and alcoholism family history effects on attention function and to examine the consequences of potential impairment for the regulation of behavior and emotion responding. Recent theory andbasic cognitive neuroscience research hassignificantly advanced andrefined , understanding about the attention processes and underlying neurobiological structures that are necessary for the adaptive regulation of behavior and emotional response during conflict. This basic research has identified discrete functions of the attention system including maintenance of an alert state, sensory orienting, and executive control function responsible for the control of cognitive operations. In particular, executive control attention (and sub-components; evaluative and regulative control) are crucial to overcome contextually maladaptive, strong and/or habitual responding. This theory and research provides the foundation for the proposed research on attention function in intoxicated and family history positive individuals. The five proposed experiments will use electro-physiological measures (e.g., event related brain potentials) and well-validated cognitive paradigms designed to systematically index discrete components of attention function. This will allow mediation tests to determine if predicted alcohol challenge and family history of alcoholism effects on behavior and emotion regulation are the result of impaired attention function.