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Effect of Alcohol on Short Term Memory in Alcoholics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Donald W. Goodwin ,
Shirley Y. Hill ,
Barbara Powell  and
Jorge Viamontes
Donald W. Goodwin
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 4940 Audubon Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, U.S.A.
Shirley Y. Hill
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 4940 Audubon Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, U.S.A.
Barbara Powell
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 4940 Audubon Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, U.S.A.
Jorge Viamontes
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, 4940 Audubon Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, U.S.A.
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Extract

Acute alcohol intoxication is commonly followed by partial or total amnesia† for events occurring during the drinking period (Goodwin et al., 1969a). Individuals observed during the ‘blackout’ period have been noted to have a specific short term memory deficit, with remote and immediate memory largely intact (Ryback, 1970; Goodwin et al., 1970; Tamerin et al., 1971). The amnesia appears to be anterograde rather than retrograde, resembling the characteristic memory deficit in Korsakov's syndrome. Speculation has ensued that blackouts and Korsakov's syndrome may share common pathophysiological elements, though there is no direct evidence for this (Goodwin et al., 1969b).

Type
Abstract
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 122 , Issue 566 , January 1973 , pp. 93 - 94
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1973 

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References

Goodwin, D. W., Crane, J. B., and Guze, S. B. (1969a). ‘Alcoholic “blackouts”: a review and clinical study of 100 alcoholics.’ Amer. J. Psychiat., 126, 2, 77–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodwin, D. W., Crane, J. B., and Guze, S. B. (1969b). ‘Phenomenological aspects of the alcoholic “blackout”.’ Brit. J. Psychiat., 115, 526, 1033–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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Tamerin, J. S., Weiner, S., Poppen, R., Steinglass, P., and Mendelson, J. H. (1971). ‘Alcohol and memory: amnesia and short-term memory function during experimentally induced intoxication.’ Amer. J. Psychiat., 127, 12, 1659–64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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