As heavy or frequent alcohol use escalates, some people continue to drink despite increasingly negative consequences such as poor job or school performance, unraveling family or personal relationships and declining physical health.
Impaired working memory, a common problem for those with alcohol use disorder (AUD), can interfere with recovery and disease management, and contribute to the risk of relapse. Working memory is one of the processes of executive function, a set of high-level mental skills (also encompassing flexible thinking and self-control) needed to learn and to manage daily life.
“People with severe alcohol dependence have reduced ability to make sound decisions, or good choices,” said Brendan Walker, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at the University of South Florida Health (USF Health) Morsani College of Medicine. “They ignore the problems…
