Distinct Sleep Alterations in Alcohol Use Disorder Patients with and without Korsakoff’s Syndrome: Relationship with Episodic Memory (original) (raw)
Related papers
. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 2019
Background: Alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients without Korsakoff's syndrome (KS) report a variable self-rated sleep quality. Their ability to accurately judge their sleep quality may be related to their alcohol-related cognitive deficits and brain damage. KS patients, who present severe brain dysfunction, may be cognitively unable to judge their sleep quality. The aim of the present study is to examine, in AUD and KS patients, whether the absence of sleep complaint is associated with altered brain structure and impaired cognitive abilities within specific cerebral networks.
Early Identification of Alcohol Use Disorder Patients at Risk of Developing Korsakoff's Syndrome
Background: The aim of the present study was to determine whether the Brief Evaluation of Alcohol-Related Neuropsychological Impairments (BEARNI), a screening tool developed to identify neuropsychological deficits in alcohol use disorder (AUD) patients, can also be used for the early identification of AUD patients at risk of developing Korsakoff's syndrome (KS). Methods: Eighteen KS patients, 47 AUD patients and 27 healthy controls underwent BEARNI testing (including 5 subtests targeting episodic memory, working memory, executive function, visuospatial abilities, and ataxia) and a comprehensive neuropsychological examination. Results: Performance of AUD and KS patients on BEARNI subtests was consistent with the results on the standardized neuropsychological assessment. On BEARNI, ataxia and working memory deficits observed in AUD were as severe as those exhibited by KS patients, whereas for visuospatial abilities, a graded effect of performance was found. In contrast, the subtests involving long-term memory abilities (episodic memory and fluency) were impaired in KS patients only. AUD patients with a score lower than 1.5 points (out of 6) on the episodic memory subtest of BEARNI exhibited the lowest episodic memory performance on the neuropsychological battery and could be considered at risk of developing KS. Conclusions: These findings suggest that BEARNI is a useful tool for detecting severe memory impairments, suggesting that it could be used for the early identification of AUD patients at high risk of developing KS.
Brain correlates of memory dysfunction in alcoholic Korsakoff's syndrome
Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 1999
Objectives-To investigate the relation between anterograde amnesia and atrophy of brain structures involved in memory processing in alcoholic Korsa-koV's syndrome. Methods-The volume of brain structures involved in memory processing was measured with MRI from 13 subjects with KorsakoV's syndrome, 13 subjects with chronic alcoholism without KorsakoV's syndrome, and 13 control subjects. The brain structures analysed were the hippocampus, the parahippocampal gyrus, the mamillary bodies, the third ventricle, and the thalamus. Brain volumes were correlated with the delayed recall of a verbal learning test. Results-Compared with subjects with chronic alcoholism and control subjects, subjects with KorsakoV's syndrome had a reduced volume of the hippocampus, the mamillary bodies, and the thalamus, and enlargement of the third ventricle. The impairment of delayed recall correlated with the volume of the third ventricle (r=−0.55, p=0.05) in the KorsakoV group. Conclusions-Anterograde amnesia in alcoholic KorsakoV's syndrome is associated with atrophy of the nuclei in the midline of the thalamus, but not with atrophy of the mamillary bodies, the hippocampus, or the parahippocampal gyrus. (J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 1999;67:774-778)
The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 2000
This study investigated which cognitive deficits are associated with chronic alcoholism. Neuropsychological profiles and MRI brain structure volumes of 14 patients with Korsakoff's syndrome, 15 patients with chronic alcoholism, and 16 healthy control subjects were compared. The patients with alcoholism had a normal cognitive performance and normal brain structure volumes. The patients with Korsakoff's syndrome had performance deficits on tests of memory, visuoperceptual, and executive functions, as well as reduced brain structure volumes. The results suggest that the cognitive deficits cannot be ascribed to mere chronic consumption of alcohol. If cognitive deficits are present in patients with chronic alcoholism, this may point to an underlying brain disorder.
Background: The exact nature of episodic and working memory impairments in alcoholic Korsakoff patients (KS) remains unclear, as does the specificity of these neuropsychological deficits compared with those of non-Korsakoff alcoholics (AL). The goals of the present study were therefore to (1) specify the nature of episodic and working memory impairments in KS, (2) determine the specificity of the KS neuropsychological profile compared with the AL profile, and (3) observe the distribution of individual performances within the 2 patient groups.
Effects of Alcohol on Polysomnographically Recorded Sleep in Healthy Subjects
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 2006
Background: After studying the sleep of alcohol-dependent patients at the beginning and over the course of abstinence in earlier studies, our interest in the current study focused on the direct effect of 2 doses of alcohol [0.03 and 0.1% blood alcohol level (BAL)] on healthy sleep. This is the first polysomnographic study testing the impact of 2 doses of alcohol ingestion (thus reflecting ''normal'' social drinking and alcohol abuse) in a single-blind randomized design in healthy volunteers. The study evaluated a short-term acute drinking period for 3 and 2 days of withdrawal from alcohol not only for polysomnographic variables but also for subjective estimates of sleep quality.
An Atypical Neuropsychological Profile of a Korsakoff Syndrome Patient throughout the Follow-Up
European Neurology, 2001
The basis of amnesia in alcoholic Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS) has been generally associated with diencephalic lesions and more specifically with lesions of the anterior thalamic nuclei. These brain structures are considered to be involved in encoding/consolidation processes of episodic memory. However, frontal lobe damage responsible for executive function deficits has also been documented. The present report details the nature and extent of amnesia in an alcoholic patients with WKS and which appears to be mainly due to frontal lobe (executive) deficits.
The Acute Effects of Alcohol on Sleep Architecture in Late Adolescence
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 2013
Background: Alcohol consumption is prevalent in late adolescence; however, little is known about its effect on sleep in this group. In mature adults, alcohol decreases sleep onset latency (SOL) and sleep efficiency (SE) and increases wake after sleep onset (WASO). It also increases slow wave sleep (SWS) and decreases rapid eye movement (REM) sleep in the first half of the night, with the inverse occurring in the second half. Alcohol's effect on sleep during late adolescence is of interest given that this age group shows both dramatic increases in alcohol consumption and significant developmental changes in the central nervous system. This study examined the effect of alcohol on sleep architecture in women and men aged 18 to 21 years and whether previously reported sleep architecture effects may have been as an artificial result of changes to sleep cycle length.