Binge drinking increases teenager's memory loss
April 5th 2008 20:28
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From: in the news.com.uk
Binge drinking increases teenagers' memory loss
Teenagers who binge drink have a higher risk of everyday memory loss, a new study has warned.
Previous research has suggested that binge drinking has a detrimental effect on memory for past events but until now little was known about its impact on prospective memory - the ability to remember something you intend to do in the future.
Scientists from the University of Northumbria and Keele University studied the impact of binge drinking - six units for females and eight units for males on two or more occasions per week - on teenagers' prospective memory.
Twenty-six binge drinkers and 34 non binge drinkers completed a range of tasks including a self report and video-based prospective memory task.
The self report assessed how often they had forgotten everyday tasks they intended to do and the video required the person to remember particular tasks at different points along a video clip of a shopping trip along a busy street.
Binge drinkers recalled fewer items on the video-based prospective memory task than non-binge drinkers, according to the study.
No difference was observed between the two groups in terms of self-reported memory failures.
"Evidence has shown that the structural and functional development of the brain continues in the teenage years," said Dr Thomas Heffernan.
"If our findings are confirmed, it is feasible that binge drinking in the teenage years may impede important development of the brain that may underpin memory."
The findings were presented at the British Psychological Society's annual conference.
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