Summary: <\/strong>A new study has established the first-ever objective, real-time method to detect alcohol-induced blackouts while a person is actively drinking. The research addresses a critical public health obstacle: the historical inability to identify a blackout until the following day, after potential injuries, arrests, or overdoses have already occurred.<\/p>\n Investigators designed a simple, time-delayed memory paradigm that successfully correlates immediate cognitive failure with next-day amnesia, providing a revolutionary tool for real-time risk intervention.<\/p>\n Key Facts<\/strong><\/p>\n Source: <\/strong>University of Missouri Columbia<\/p>\n It\u2019s\u00a0not surprising if someone experiences memory loss, or a \u2018blackout,\u2019\u00a0while drinking alcohol.\u00a0While\u00a0common, blackouts are considered a public health concern\u00a0linked to\u00a0injury, arrest,\u00a0assault\u00a0and overdose.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Given these\u00a0consequences, the ability to\u00a0identify\u00a0and intervene\u00a0in a blackout\u00a0could reduce people\u2019s risk for alcohol-related harm.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n One researcher from the University of Missouri School of Medicine\u00a0has developed a\u00a0way\u00a0to\u00a0identify\u00a0blackouts in real-time. In the study,\u00a063\u00a0participants\u00a0completed memory tests while they were actively drinking. They would view an image, and 15 minutes later, they had to report what they remembered.\u00a0<\/p>\n Theoretically, not remembering the image would\u00a0indicate\u00a0a blackout had occurred. Researchers compared these real-time memory tests of blackout to participants\u2019 self-reported\u00a0experiences\u00a0the\u00a0next day\u00a0to\u00a0determine\u00a0if\u00a0a blackout\u00a0happened.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn our study,\u00a0not remembering an image while drinking\u00a0was moderately\u00a0correlated with\u00a0next-day self-reports of blackout,\u201d\u00a0study\u00a0author Mary Beth\u00a0Miller said.\u00a0\u201cIn contrast, over 90% of the time, if someone remembered all the images\u00a0they saw\u00a0while drinking, they didn\u2019t\u00a0self-report a blackout\u00a0the next day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n These\u00a0memory\u00a0tests are a breakthrough in alcohol research, Miller\u00a0said,\u00a0and\u00a0are\u00a0the first objective measure of alcohol-induced blackouts\u00a0ever created.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest barrier to studying blackouts is that you can\u2019t tell when they\u2019re happening,\u201d Miller said. \u201cBeing able to\u00a0identify\u00a0blackouts in real time will help us figure out when and why they happen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The researchers are still\u00a0testing and building their memory testing tool. Since\u00a0study participants were\u00a0mainly social-drinking\u00a0young adults,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0possible that different populations, like older adults\u00a0with alcohol use\u00a0disorder, may have different results. They also want to see if results change after giving participants more information to remember.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Miller says\u00a0the goal is to create an app that accurately\u00a0identifies\u00a0blackouts, rather than just ruling them out, but friends going out for drinks can still use\u00a0the same testing method.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMemory\u00a0tests are a quick and\u00a0easy way\u00a0to gauge your friends\u2019 risk of blackout while\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0out drinking.\u00a0If\u00a0you\u2019re\u00a0worried about your friend, you can just give them something to remember and ask\u00a0about it\u00a0roughly\u00a015\u00a0minutes later,\u201d Miller said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf they\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0remember, it\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0necessarily mean\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0blacked out, but I would keep an eye on them.\u00a0If they do, you might feel a little reassured.\u00a0They may not be making good decisions, but our data suggests\u00a0they\u2019ll\u00a0probably remember\u00a0those decisions tomorrow.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Mary Beth Miller,\u00a0PhD\u00a0is\u00a0an associate professor of psychiatry and the\u00a0Director of the Health Intervention and Treatment Research Laboratory\u00a0at the Mizzou School of Medicine.\u00a0<\/p>\n Funding information<\/strong>\u00a0This work was supported by funding from the University of Missouri\u2019s Center for Addiction Research and Engagement. Investigator effort was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (K23AA026895, T32AA013526).<\/p>\n A<\/strong>: You can easily see if someone is slurring their speech or stumbling, but you cannot look at a person and tell if their brain has completely stopped recording memories. A person experiencing a blackout can often continue talking, walking, and making decisions, making the condition entirely invisible from the outside. This test provides the first objective tool to peek inside the brain\u2019s recording software in real-time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A<\/strong>: Not necessarily. Forgetting a single image while drinking is moderately correlated with a blackout, but it isn\u2019t an absolute guarantee. However, it serves as an immediate red flag. If your friend blanks on something they saw just 15 minutes ago, their brain is struggling to process information, meaning it is time to cut them off and keep a very close eye on them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n A<\/strong>: It changes the entire timeline of intervention. Previously, researchers and clinicians could only study blackouts retroactively, asking people the next morning what they remembered. By engineering this into a future smartphone app, the technology can actively intervene before<\/em> a person suffers an alcohol-related injury, assault, or overdose, moving public health from a position of regret to real-time prevention.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Author:\u00a0<\/strong>Rochita Ghosh<\/a>\n
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<\/picture>Key Questions Answered:<\/h3>\n
Editorial Notes:<\/h3>\n
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About this pharmacology and neurodevelopment research news<\/h2>\n
Source:\u00a0<\/strong>University of Missouri-Columbia<\/a>
Contact:\u00a0<\/strong>Rochita Ghosh \u2013 University of Missouri-Columbia
Image:\u00a0<\/strong>The image is credited to Neuroscience News<\/p>\n