Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Psychiatry Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/psychres Differences in the verbal fluency, working memory and executive functions in alcoholics: Short-term vs. long-term abstainers Katarzyna Nowakowska-Domagala a, ⁎ , Karolina Jablkowska-Górecka b , Lukasz Lukasz Mokros c , Jacek Koprowicz d , Tadeusz Pietras c a Department of Cognitive Science, Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences University of Lodz, Smugowa 10/12, 91-433 Lodz, Poland b Public Health Division, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Warsaw, Poland Żwirki i Wigury 61, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland c Department Clinical Pharmacology, Medical University of Lodz, Kopcinskiego 22, Lodz 91-153, Poland d Psychiatry Centre of Pabianice, Jana Pawla II 68, 95-200 Pabianice, Poland ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Alcohol dependence Verbal fluency Working memory and executive functions Cognitive dysfunctions ABSTRACT The aim of the study was to assess differences in verbal fluency, working memory and executive functions in two subgroups of alcohol-dependent patients, those undergoing short-term abstinence (STA) and those undergoing long-term abstinence (LTA), and to compare the level of cognitive functions in patients after long-term abstinence with healthy subjects. The study group consisted of 106 alcohol-dependent patients (53 immediately after drinking at least 3 days and 53 after at least one-year abstinence). The control group comprised 53 subjects, whose age, sex and education levels matched those of the patients in the experimental group. The dependence intensity was assessed using SADD and MAST scales. The neuropsychological assessment was based on the FAS Test, Stroop Test and TMT A & B Test. The results obtained for alcohol-dependent patients revealed significant disturbances of cognitive functions. Such results indicate the presence of severe frontal cerebral cortex dysfunctions. Frontal cortex dysfunctions affecting the verbal fluency and working memory subsystems and the executive functions also persisted during long-term abstinence periods. No significant correlations between the duration of dependence, quantity of alcohol consumed and efficiency of the working memory and executive functions were observed in alcohol-dependent subjects after short-term or long-term abstinence. 1. Introduction Neuropsychological tests indicate that most alcohol-dependent patients (AD) possess cognitive function impairments of various severity (Lindemann et al., 2011; Stavro et al., 2013) Memory processes, learning, abstract thinking, solving complex problems have been found to be impaired, as well as information processing rate and visual spatial functions (Bechara et al., 2001; Cunha and Novaes, 2004; Noël et al., 2002; Nowakowska et al., 2008; Rosenbloom et al., 2005; Stavro et al., 2013). In a study of the cognitive functioning of AD subjects, Sullivan et al., (2002, 2000a) report mild or moderate impairment of executive functions and visual spatial abilities and the presence of balance disorders; however, other studies note that declarative memory, language skills, and primary perceptual and motor abilities are retained (Oscar-Berman and Marinkovic, 2003; Sullivan, 2000), and others report deficits in spatial learning, short-term memory and the inhibitory control of reactions and decision making (Kopera et al., 2012; Le Berre et al., 2014; Sullivan et al., 2000a). Interestingly Dao-Castellana et al. (1998), report that despite a lack of visible signs of CNS damage, alcohol-dependent patients may present dysfunctions of the prefrontal cortex. These dysfunctions may affect the verbal functions, predominantly verbal expression and behavior control, to an extent that correlates with the degree of impairment of working memory and executive function: another area of cognitive functioning that can be impaired as a result of alcohol abuse. Other studies have identified other characteristic impairments in verbal functions, including speech perception and understanding, verbal expression, and speaking fluency, as well as the ability to build sentences, and quickly and accurately select the right words in conversation (Dao-Castellana et al., 1998; Fernandez-Serrano et al., 2010). Deterioration of verbal fluency is probably associated with abnormal activity in both the frontal and temporal lobes (Birn et al., 2010; Costafreda et al., 2006). Refraining from consuming alcohol may result in the selective http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2016.12.034 Received 19 June 2016; Accepted 24 December 2016 ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: katarzyna.nowakowskadomagala@uni.lodz.pl (K. Nowakowska-Domagala), k.jablkowska@pro.onet.pl (K. Jablkowska-Górecka), lukasz.mokros@umed.lodz.pl (L. Mokros), j.koprowicz@op.pl (J. Koprowicz), tadeusz.pietras@umed.lodz.pl (T. Pietras). Psychiatry Research 249 (2017) 1–8 Available online 27 December 2016 0165-1781/ © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. MARK