Cognitive training in alcoholic men.
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
J R Yohman
Publications and source records attributed to J R Yohman.
Semantic (verbal) and figural memory impairment in alcoholics.
In two separate studies, episodic semantic (verbal) and figural-memory abilities as measured by the Wechsler Memory Scale (Russell Method) are compared in middle-aged detoxified male alcoholics and controls. Both studies gave rise to similar findings. Alcoholics recalled significantly less verbal and figural material at both immediate recall and 30-min delayed recall than did the controls. Contrary to expectation, compared to controls, alcoholics did not have a greater differential deficit for the figural material as compared with the verbal or a greater differential deficit on delayed than on immediate memory. The percentage of material recalled at the delayed testing, when taken as a function of the amount of material recalled immediately, did not differ for the two groups on the semantic or figural tasks in either study. Thus, rates of forgetting were equivalent in alcoholics and controls suggesting that the alcoholics' deficit lies in the initial acquisition process. Whether that deficit is in encoding or initial retrieval processes remains to be investigated. Implications for future research are given.
Adult↗
Verbal reasoning deficits in alcoholics.
The Conceptual Level Analogies Test (CLAT), a well-constructed test of analogical reasoning, was given to groups of middle-aged male alcoholics and control subjects in two separate studies. As predicted, the alcoholics had lower CLAT scores than nonalcoholics in both studies. These results support the generalized-diffuse model of the neuropsychological effects of alcoholism. Contrary to prediction, alcoholics differed from control subjects as much on the easy analogies as they did on the hard analogies, which suggested that alcoholics differ both qualitatively and quantitatively from nonalcoholics in cognitive impairment. Finally, in two of three studies in our laboratory, familial alcoholics had significantly lower CLAT scores than nonfamilial alcoholics. These findings emphasize the importance of considering familial history of alcoholism when studying the neuropsychological functioning of alcoholics.
Adult↗
Intact verbal paired-associate learning in alcoholics.
Evidence for impaired verbal learning/memory in alcoholics is inconsistent. In part, this may be due to variations in task parameters such as difficulty level. The latter was varied in a paired-associate paradigm with 60 chronic male alcoholics abstinent 1 month and 60 nonalcoholic matched controls. Each subject was presented four lists with seven pairs of stimulus-response combinations of word meaningfulness of high-high, low-high, high-low and low-low values. The more difficult lists resulted in greater errors for both groups, but the predicted relative impairment of alcoholics with more difficult material did not occur, nor did the groups' learning curves differ. Under our experimental conditions, rote associative learning either remains intact or recovers satisfactorily with 1 month of abstinence in alcoholics. The results emphasize the importance of methodological variables and suggest restrictions on current generalizations about cognitive impairment in alcoholics.
Adult↗
Locus of control and neuropsychological performance in chronic alcoholics.
Correlated neuropsychological performance and three dimensions of Locus of Control (LOC) were examined in 62 hospitalized male chronic alcoholics and 24 non-alcoholic males drawn from the community. Performance deficits in alcoholic Ss correlated significantly with high scores on the Chance (LOC-C) and Powerful Others (LOC-PO) scales for approximately half of the measures employed, while no such correlations were significant in the controls. Correlations between performance and scores on the Internal (LOC-I) scale were negligible. Controls scored significantly higher than alcoholics on the Internal dimension; Chance and Powerful Others orientation were not significantly different in the two groups. From these and other results we conclude: (a) alcoholics and controls manifest similar but not identical LOC orientations; (b) alcoholics and controls show different relationships between neuropsychological performance and LOC orientation; and (c) the correlation between LOC variables and performance in alcoholics cannot account for the widespread differences in performance levels between the two groups.
Alcoholism↗
Test of scotopic suppression of the photopic process.
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Adaptation, Ocular↗
Neuropsychological differences between male familial and nonfamilial alcoholics and nonalcoholics.
The hypothesis was tested that neuropsychological differences exist between males who have an alcoholic parent, sister, or brother (FH+) versus those who do not (FH-). Neuropsychological tests measuring verbal, learning/memory, abstracting/problem solving, and perceptual-motor performance were given to four groups of middle-aged subjects: alcoholic FH+ (n = 41); alcoholic FH- (n = 27); nonalcoholic FH+ (n = 19); and nonalcoholic FH- (n = 43). FH+ subjects performed significantly poorer than FH- subjects on the abstracting/problem solving and perceptual-motor tasks, and approached significance on the verbal and learning/memory measures. Alcoholics performed more poorly than nonalcoholics on abstracting/problem solving and learning/memory tasks. There were no groups by family history significant interactions. From these results we suggest: a performance deficit in abstracting/problem solving and possibly learning/memory may antedate the alcoholic stage in FH+ individuals; alcoholism and positive family history of alcoholism have independent, additive deleterious effects on cognitive-perceptual functioning; and future neuropsychological studies of alcoholism should consider the frequency of FH+ and FH- individuals in both alcoholic and control groups.
Adult↗
Lack of recovery in male alcoholics' neuropsychological performance one year after treatment.
Thirty-seven middle-aged alcoholics and 20 nonalcoholic controls equated for age and education were examined on measures of verbal, learning/memory, abstracting/problem-solving, and perceptual-motor abilities 7 weeks after beginning detoxification and 13 months later. At 7 weeks, the alcoholics were significantly different from the controls on the verbal, abstracting/problem-solving, and perceptual-motor clusters and tended to differ on the learning/memory tests. At 13 months, the same pattern of differences was found except the groups no longer differed on the verbal tests. Alcoholics who resumed drinking during the 13 months differed from the controls to a greater extent than did abstainers on both the initial and final testings. These results have implications for treatment programs and recidivism.
Alcoholism↗