The Effects of Placebo and Moderate Dose Alcohol on Attentional Bias, Inhibitory Control and Subjective Craving

Author(s):  
Adam M McNeill ◽  
Rebecca L Monk ◽  
Adam W Qureshi ◽  
Damien Litchfield ◽  
Derek Heim

Abstract Aims Previous research indicates that acute alcohol intoxication and placebo can inhibit people’s control over consumption behaviour and heighten attentional bias (AB) towards alcohol-related stimuli and craving. We designed a study to disentangle anticipated from pharmacological effects of alcohol in order to gain a clearer view of their relative contributions to alcohol consumption. Methods In a within-participants design (moderate alcohol dose, placebo and control), and over a minimum 2-week period, participants completed a battery of questionnaires and cognitive tasks, followed by a bogus taste task to measure ad libitum consumption. Results Both alcohol preload and placebo resulted in cognitive and psychological changes, including impaired inhibitory control, heightened AB and craving. However, ad libitum consumption only increased following alcohol and not placebo. Furthermore, inhibitory control impairments did not mediate the relationship between initial intoxication and ad libitum consumption, and findings indicate that increases in craving may mediate this association. Conclusion Psychological processes such as craving may be more important in driving consummatory behaviour relative to transient changes in cognitive processes, such as inhibitory control.

Author(s):  
Adam M. McNeill ◽  
Rebecca L. Monk ◽  
Adam W. Qureshi ◽  
Stergios Makris ◽  
Valantina Cazzato ◽  
...  

AbstractPrevious research indicates that following alcohol intoxication, activity in prefrontal cortices is reduced, linking to changes in associated cognitive processes, such as inhibitory control, attentional bias (AB), and craving. While these changes have been implicated in alcohol consumption behaviour, it has yet to be fully illuminated how these frontal regions and cognitive processes interact to govern alcohol consumption behaviour. The current preregistered study applied continuous theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (cTBS) to examine directly these relationships while removing the wider pharmacological effects of alcohol. A mixed design was implemented, with cTBS stimulation to right and left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), the medial orbital frontal cortex (mOFC) and Vertex, with measures of inhibitory control, AB, and craving taken both pre- and post-stimulation. Ad libitum consumption was measured using a bogus taste task. Results suggest that rDLPFC stimulation impaired inhibitory control but did not significantly increase ad libitum consumption. However, lDLPFC stimulation heightened craving and increased consumption, with findings indicating that changes in craving partially mediated the relationship between cTBS stimulation of prefrontal regions and ad libitum consumption. Medial OFC stimulation and AB findings were inconclusive. Overall, results implicate the left DLPFC in the regulation of craving, which appears to be a prepotent cognitive mechanism by which alcohol consumption is driven and maintained.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Edward Bartlett

Historically, smokers were considered a single homogeneous group, but over the past two decades research has increasingly focused on differentiating daily and non-daily smokers. Despite fundamentally different smoking habits and motives, daily and non-daily smokers have similar cessation rates. In order to understand why both groups may experience a similar difficulty quitting smoking, this thesis explored neurocognitive mechanisms associated with addictive behaviour. In order to profile these mechanisms, a systematic review was conducted, highlighting there was a gap to address in two areas of research relating to drive and control. Study One (N = 60) and Study Two (N = 166) investigated attentional bias towards smoking cues using the visual probe task, finding there was no meaningful difference between daily and non-daily smokers in trait-level attentional bias. Study Three (N = 28) measured ERP components associated with inhibitory control (Go/NoGo task) and error processing (Eriksen Flanker task). There were no significant effects of interest, but the sample size was smaller than planned. This thesis made three contributions to the study of addictive behaviour. First, the systematic review highlighted that research investigating lighter and heavier smokers has a problematic level of heterogeneity in the definitions used to define the groups. Second, there was no meaningful difference in attentional bias between daily and non-daily smokers, supporting contemporary theories that attentional bias may be best conceptualised as a state-level construct. Finally, internal consistency estimates of the ERP measures of inhibitory control and error processing supported previous research reporting good psychometric properties. Overall, this thesis presented a focused profile of measures relating to drive and control neurocognitive mechanisms, but there were no meaningful differences between daily and non-daily smokers. If these mechanisms are important to addictive behaviour, future research will have to investigate their role using alternative designs.


Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Windt ◽  
Ursula Voss

Dreams are sometimes described as an intensified form of spontaneous waking thought. Lucid dreams may seem to be a counterexample, because metacognitive insight into the fact that one is now dreaming is often associated with the ability to deliberately control the ongoing dream. This chapter uses conceptual considerations and empirical research findings to argue that lucid dreaming is in fact a promising and rich target for the future investigation of spontaneous thought. In particular, the investigation of dream lucidity can shed light on the relationship between metacognitive insight and control, on the one hand, and the spontaneous, largely imagistic cognitive processes that underlie the formation of dream imagery, on the other hand. In some cases, even lucid insight itself can be described as the outcome of spontaneous processes, rather than as resulting from conscious and deliberate reasoning. This raises new questions about the relationship between metacognitive awareness and spontaneous thought.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (S2-Sep) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Bora Demir

Working Memory (WM) is an essential concept of cognitive science since many aspects of human learning depend on it. Primarily proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974) and developed by Baddeley (1986), the concept of WM comprises the number of subsystems involved during the process and the considerable emphasis on its key role in cognitive tasks such as learning, reasoning, and comprehension. As a complex and limited cognitive system, by enabling the input to be temporarily stored, monitored and manipulated understanding the sub mechanism under the WM model is crucial in specifying the factors that affect learning languages. By taking Baddeley’s model of WM (2012) as reference, the aim of this study is to dicuss the model of WM and demonstrate the relationship between its components and the processes that play an important role in  understanding the underlying cognitive processes for language learning.


2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sybille Rockstroh ◽  
Karl Schweizer

Effects of four retest-practice sessions separated by 2 h intervals on the relationship between general intelligence and four reaction time tasks (two memory tests: Sternberg's memory scanning, Posner's letter comparison; and two attention tests: continuous attention, attention switching) were examined in a sample of 83 male participants. Reaction times on all tasks were shortened significantly. The effects were most pronounced with respect to the Posner paradigm and smallest with respect to the Sternberg paradigm. The relationship to general intelligence changed after practice for two reaction time tasks. It increased to significance for continuous attention and decreased for the Posner paradigm. These results indicate that the relationship between psychometric intelligence and elementary cognitive tasks depends on the ability of skill acquisition. In the search for the cognitive roots of intelligence the concept of learning seems to be of importance.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara Feldman

This paper is a contribution to the growing literature on the role of projective identification in understanding couples' dynamics. Projective identification as a defence is well suited to couples, as intimate partners provide an ideal location to deposit unwanted parts of the self. This paper illustrates how projective identification functions differently depending on the psychological health of the couple. It elucidates how healthier couples use projective identification more as a form of communication, whereas disturbed couples are inclined to employ it to invade and control the other, as captured by Meltzer's concept of "intrusive identification". These different uses of projective identification affect couples' capacities to provide what Bion called "containment". In disturbed couples, partners serve as what Meltzer termed "claustrums" whereby projections are not contained, but imprisoned or entombed in the other. Applying the concept of claustrum helps illuminate common feelings these couples express, such as feeling suffocated, stifled, trapped, held hostage, or feeling as if the relationship is killing them. Finally, this paper presents treatment challenges in working with more disturbed couples.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Dody Nur Andriyan

Regional Regulation (Perda) which regulates public issues such as prostitution, alcoholic beverages, gambling, and the relationship between men and women turns out to be identified as a Regional Regulation with nuances of Islamic law. in Banyumas Regency there is a Regional Regulation which if used by the identification of Arfiansyah above, it can be referred to as a Regional Regulation with nuances of Islamic law. The regulation is: Banyumas District Regulation Number 15 of 2014 concerning Control, Supervision and Control of Circulation of Alcoholic Beverages and Regional Regulations of Banyumas Regency Number 16 of 2015 concerning Community Disease Management. This research has two formulations of the first problem related to the results of the content of the analysis on the Perda that are nuanced by Islamic law in Banyumas Regency. Both of the results of the analysis content on the Regional Regulations that are nuanced by Islamic law in Banyumas Regency are not contrary to Law-Invitation Number 12 of 2011? This research is a qualitative-descriptive study. The research method used is normative juridical. The main source of data is the Banyumas District Regulation Number 15 of 2014 concerning Control, Supervision and Control of Circulation of Alcoholic Beverages and Regional Regulations of Banyumas Regency Number 16 of 2015 concerning Community Disease Management. Interviews were also conducted with resource persons. Furthermore, the results of the analysis were carried out. Regional Regulation No. 15 of 2014 is actually a Regional Regulation that has a broad purpose of public interest, for the nation and state. So that the claim that Perda No 15 of 2014 as a Regional Regulation with nuances of Islamic law is not true. Regional Regulation No. 16 of 2015 is actually a Regional Regulation that has a broad purpose of public interest, for the nation and state. So that the claim that Perda No 16 of 2015 as a Regional Regulation with nuances of Islamic law is not true. Both of these Perda (Perda No 15 of 2014 and Perda No. 16 of 2015) are not in conflict with Law No. 12 of 2011 concerning the Establishment of Legislation. Both in terms of content, principles, goals, arrangements, administrative sanctions and criminal sanctions. Formally and procedurally the two Perda are in accordance with Law Number 12 of 2011


1997 ◽  
Vol 35 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 35-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Genthe ◽  
N. Strauss ◽  
J. Seager ◽  
C. Vundule ◽  
F. Maforah ◽  
...  

Efforts to provide water to developing communities in South Africa have resulted in various types of water supplies being used. This study examined the relationship between the type of water supply and the quality of water used. Source (communal taps, private outdoor and indoor taps) and point-of-use water samples were examined for heterotrophic plate counts (HPC), total and faecal coliforms, E. coli, and coliphages. Ten percent of samples were also analysed for enteric viruses, Giardia and Cryptosporidium. Approximately 320 households were included in a case-control study. In addition, a cross-sectional study was conducted. Both studies examined the relationship between different types of water facilities and diarrhoea among pre-school children. The source water was of good microbial quality, but water quality was found to have deteriorated significantly after handling and storage in both case and control households, exceeding drinking water quality guideline values by 1-6 orders of magnitude. Coliphage counts were low for all water samples tested. Enteric viruses and Cryptosporidium oocysts were not detected. Giardia cysts were detected on one occasion in case and control in-house samples. Comparisons of whether in-house water, after handling and storage, complied with water quality guideline values demonstrated households using communal taps to have significantly poorer quality than households using private outdoor or indoor taps for HPC and E. coli (χ2 = 14.9, P = 0.001; χ2 = 6.6, P = 0.04 respectively). A similar trend (although not statistically significant) was observed for the other microbial indicators. The cross-sectional study demonstrated an apparent decrease in health risk associated with private outdoor taps in comparison to communal taps. This study suggests that a private outdoor tap is the minimum level of water supply in order to ensure the supply of safe water to developing communities.


Author(s):  
Dan Honig

This chapter traces the relationship between political authorizing environments, international development organization (IDO) management, and IDO field agents, drawing on the empirics presented in chapters 6 and 7. It digs into the experience of working for USAID as compared to DFID. It also extends the discussion of delegation to implementing contractors and brings this book’s theorizing of Navigation by Judgment into conversation with other foreign aid solutions aimed at incorporating local knowledge, such as establishing country offices or ensuring projects have country ownership. This chapter connects Part II’s empirics more tightly to the mechanisms theorized in Part I , particularly the role of authorizing environment insecurity and the need to “manage up” (Chapter 4) and their implications for the workplace experience of agents (Chapter 3) and the entry and exit of personnel.


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