Impaired cognitive flexibility and heightened urgency are associated with increased alcohol consumption in rodent models of excessive drinking

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuela De Falco ◽  
Shelby M. White ◽  
Mitchell D. Morningstar ◽  
Baofeng Ma ◽  
Lionnel T. Nkurunziza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Rodent Models ◽  
Excessive Drinking

scholarly journals 140 Characters of Intoxication: Exploring the Prevalence of Alcohol-Related Tweets and Predicting Their Virality

SAGE Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 215824401880313 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saleem Alhabash ◽  
Courtland VanDam ◽  
Pang-Ning Tan ◽  
Sandi W. Smith ◽  
Gregory Viken ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Past Research ◽  
The United States ◽  
Excessive Drinking ◽  
User Characteristics ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
Widespread Phenomenon

Past research has suggested an associative relationship between social media use and alcohol consumption, especially among the younger generations. The current study takes a generalizable approach to examining the prevalence of posting about alcohol on a popular social media platform, Twitter, as well as examining the predictors of a tweet’s virality. We content-analyzed more than 47.5 million tweets that were posted in March 2015 to explore the prevalence of alcohol-related references, and how alcohol-related references, tweet features (e.g., inclusion of hashtags, pictures, etc.), and user characteristics (e.g., number of followers) contribute to the tweet’s virality. Our findings showed that during March 2015, about two of every 100 tweets in the United States were alcohol-related; whereas the majority of those referenced intoxication. In addition to tweet features and user characteristics, the prevalence of alcohol-related references in a tweet positively predicted the number of likes it received, yet negatively predicted the number of retweets. Given prior evidence supporting the association between social media use and alcohol consumption, the prevalence of alcohol references in tweets and how that contributes to their virality offers insights into the widespread phenomenon of glorifying alcohol use and excessive drinking via social media, pointing to potential negative health consequences.

You have to be prepared to drink

2018 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma L. Davies ◽  
Cara Law ◽  
Sarah E. Hennelly
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Excessive Drinking ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Excessive Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Target Individual ◽  
University Life ◽  
Recent Graduates ◽  
Excessive Consumption ◽  
Excessive Alcohol

Purpose Many existing interventions to reduce excessive drinking in university students attempt to target individual cognitions, which ignore the wider contextual features that drive excessive drinking and mark this as an important aspect of university life. The purpose of this paper is to explore students’ views about preventing excessive drinking at university, specifically by using frameworks that take into both account individual and social influences. Design/methodology/approach In all, 23 young adults aged 20-30 (12 females; M age=22.91; SD=2.57; 18 students, five recent graduates) took part in semi-structured interviews to explore their views about drinking and measures to reduce excessive consumption. Transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings There were three themes identified in the analysis. These themes were named “the role of alcohol in student life”, drinking transitions’, and “prevention challenges” and each had related sub-themes. Practical implications Targeting students before they commence their course and highlighting aspects of university life that do not involve alcohol may help to reduce the pressure often felt to drink in social situations. Providing novel, credible alternative socialising options that do not involve alcohol should be explored to determine their acceptability, and their potential to reduce excessive drinking. Originality/value Few studies explore what students themselves think about reducing alcohol consumption and most interventions focus on changing individual cognitions rather than features of the social environment. This study highlights that changing social practices related to drinking in combination with targeting individuals may be more fruitful avenue to reduce excessive alcohol consumption.

scholarly journals Chronic alcohol drinking persistently suppresses thalamostriatal excitation of cholinergic neurons to impair cognitive flexibility

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tengfei Ma ◽  
Zhenbo Huang ◽  
Xueyi Xie ◽  
Xiaowen Zhuang ◽  
Matthew Childs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Alcohol Drinking ◽  
Long Term Potentiation ◽  
D1 Receptor ◽  
Chronic Alcohol ◽  
Glutamatergic Transmission ◽  
Chronic Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Cholinergic Interneurons

Exposure to addictive substances impairs flexible decision-making. Cognitive flexibility is mediated by striatal cholinergic interneurons (CINs). However, how chronic alcohol drinking alters cognitive flexibility through CINs remains unclear. Here, we report that chronic alcohol consumption and withdrawal impaired reversal of instrumental learning. Chronic alcohol consumption and withdrawal also caused a long-lasting (21 d) reduction of excitatory thalamic inputs onto CINs and reduced pause response of CINs in the dorsomedial striatum (DMS). CINs are known to inhibit glutamatergic transmission in dopamine D1 receptor-expressing medium spiny neurons (D1-MSNs) but facilitate this transmission in D2-MSNs, which may contribute to flexible behavior. We discovered that chronic alcohol drinking impaired CIN-mediated inhibition in D1-MSNs and facilitation in D2-MSNs. Importantly, in vivo optogenetic induction of long-term potentiation of thalamostriatal transmission in DMS CINs rescued alcohol-induced reversal learning deficits. These results demonstrate that chronic alcohol drinking reduces thalamic excitation of DMS CINs, compromising their regulation of glutamatergic transmission in MSNs, which may contribute to alcohol-induced impairment of cognitive flexibility. These findings provide a neural mechanism underlying inflexible drinking in alcohol use disorder.

scholarly journals Alcohol Consumption and Risk of Common Autoimmune Inflammatory Diseases—Evidence From a Large-Scale Genetic Analysis Totaling 1 Million Individuals

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xia Jiang ◽  
Zhaozhong Zhu ◽  
Ali Manouchehrinia ◽  
Tomas Olsson ◽  
Lars Alfredsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Lupus Erythematosus ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Alcohol Intake ◽  
Genome Wide Association Study ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Autoimmune Disorders ◽  
Excessive Drinking ◽  
Shared Genetic

Purpose: Observational studies have suggested a protective effect of alcohol intake with autoimmune disorders, which was not supported by Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses that used only a few (<20) instrumental variables.Methods: We systemically interrogated a putative causal relationship between alcohol consumption and four common autoimmune disorders, using summary-level data from the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) conducted on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), multiple sclerosis (MS), and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We quantified the genetic correlation to examine a shared genetic similarity. We constructed a strong instrument using 99 genetic variants associated with drinks per week and applied several two-sample MR methods. We additionally incorporated excessive drinking as reflected by alcohol use disorder identification test score.Results: We observed a negatively shared genetic basis between alcohol intake and autoimmune disorders, although none was significant (rg = −0.07 to −0.02). For most disorders, genetically predicted alcohol consumption was associated with a slightly (10–25%) decreased risk of onset, yet these associations were not significant. Meta-analyzing across RA, MS, and IBD, the three Th1-related disorders yielded to a marginally significantly reduced effect [OR = 0.70 (0.51–0.95), P = 0.02]. Excessive drinking did not appear to reduce the risk of autoimmune disorders.Conclusions: With its greatly augmented sample size and substantially improved statistical power, our MR study does not convincingly support a beneficial role of alcohol consumption in each individual autoimmune disorder. Future studies may be designed to replicate our findings and to understand a causal effect on disease prognosis.

scholarly journals Trends and Socioeconomic Factors in Smoking and Alcohol Consumption Among Chinese Adults: Evidence From National Health Service Surveys

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kehui Liu ◽  
Yan Ding ◽  
Xiang Lu ◽  
Zhonghua Wang
Keyword(s):  
National Health Service ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Socioeconomic Factors ◽  
Rural Area ◽  
National Health ◽  
Smoking Rate ◽  
Excessive Drinking ◽  
Heavy Smoking

Abstract Background: Smoking and excessive drinking are risk factors for many diseases. With the rapid economic development in China, it is important to identify trends in smoking and alcohol consumption and factors that contribute to these behaviors to ensure the health of the population.Methods: we analyzed pooled cross-sectional data from the fourth, fifth, and sixth National Health Service Surveys conducted in Jiangsu Province in 2008, 2013, and 2018, respectively. Trends in smoking and alcohol use were analyzed with descriptive statistics, and bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to identify contributing factors.Results: Among total sample, smoking rate was 23.95%, in which the incidence of mild, moderate and severe smoking was 5.75%, 4.63% and 13.56%, respectively; drinking rate was 23.29%, in which non-excessive drinking and excessive drinking were 19.80% and 3.49%, respectively. From 2008–2018, overall and light-to-moderate smoking rates first increased and then decreased while heavy smoking rate declined; and alcohol consumption increased while excessive drinking increased before decreasing. The varying tendency of smoking and drinking rates in urban area was similar to rural area, however there was a significant gap in incidence between urban and rural area. Socioeconomic factors, demographic, health-related and year variables were significant associated with smoking and drinking. Conclusion: Preventive measures such as education and support services along with stricter regulations for tobacco and alcohol use are needed to improve public health in China.

Total Alcohol Consumption and Excessive Drinking

Addiction ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Duffy ◽  
G. R. Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Excessive Drinking ◽  
Total Alcohol

scholarly journals Trends and socioeconomic factors in smoking and alcohol consumption among Chinese people: evidence from the 2008–2018 National Health Service Surveys in Jiangsu Province

2021 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kehui Liu ◽  
Yan Ding ◽  
Xiang Lu ◽  
Zhonghua Wang
Keyword(s):  
National Health Service ◽  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Health Service ◽  
Socioeconomic Factors ◽  
Rural Area ◽  
Smoking Rate ◽  
Excessive Drinking ◽  
Heavy Smoking ◽  
Drinking Rate

Abstract Background Smoking and excessive drinking are risk factors for many diseases. With the rapid economic development in China, it is important to identify trends in smoking and alcohol consumption and socioeconomic factors that contribute to these behaviors to ensure the health of the population. Methods we analyzed pooled cross-sectional data from the fourth, fifth, and sixth National Health Service Surveys conducted in Jiangsu Province in 2008, 2013, and 2018, respectively. The study population was those over 15 years old in three surveys. Trends in smoking and alcohol use were analyzed with descriptive statistics, and bivariate and multinomial logistic regression was used to identify contributing factors. Results Among total sample, smoking rate was 23.95%, in which the incidence of light, moderate and heavy smoking was 5.75, 4.63 and 13.56%, respectively; drinking rate was 23.29%, in which non-excessive drinking and excessive drinking were 19.80 and 3.49%, respectively, “smoking and drinking” rate was 13.41%. From 2008 to 2018, overall and light-to-moderate smoking rates first increased and then decreased while heavy smoking rate declined; alcohol consumption increased while excessive drinking increased before decreasing; and the incidence of “smoking and drinking” has been rising continuously. The trend of smoking and drinking rates in urban area was similar to rural area, however there was significant difference between urban and rural area. Socioeconomic factors, demographic, health-related and year variables were significant influencing factors of smoking and drinking. Conclusion Our research can provide important evidences for tobacco and alcohol control in China and other similar developing countries. Preventive measures such as education and support services along with stricter regulations for tobacco and alcohol use are needed to improve public health in China.

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