Binge drinking and the differential influence of ethanol on cognitive control subprocesses: A novel field of neurotoxicology

摘要

Alcohol is a common drug of abuse and the adverse effects of chronic overconsumption are well known (e.g., Fadda and Rossetti 1998). However, drinking patterns and habits have started to change drastically, especially among younger people in Western cultures (Jernigan 2001; Montgomery et al. 2012). In this context, the term "binge drinking" describes a drinking pattern that is characterized by the consumption of alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of reaching a marked intoxication (as characterized by a blood alcohol concentration of at least 0.8 %c). For adult males, it takes at least five standard drinks, and for adult females, it takes at least four drinks to achieve this level of intoxication (Crabbe et al. 2011). The most striking differences between binge drinking and "traditional" alcoholism are the irregularity of alcohol intake and the young age of consumers (Hermens et al. 2013). Since the prefron-tal cortex (PFC) is subject to development and maturation during adolescence and emerging adulthood, binge drinking until the age of 24 probably poses a bigger harm to proper executive functioning than it does in later stages of life (Hermens et al. 2013).