LibbyAnn
10-12-2005, 09:26 AM
I know I’m a hopeless co-dependant and an old fuddy-duddy!! Actually. I’m just plain old!! But I worry and I care! As fall sports and the winter concerts start, I just want to remind everyone to be care! Many probably heard of the 19 year old who died from binge drinking and the 3 OSU football players charged with feloney charges due to their involvement.
Please Remember: Have fun, but practice moderation. Keep an eye on those you are with. And please, don’t drink and drive!!!!
Binge Drinking Impairs Mood, Congnitive Performance
from ACER News Release
Brain More Damaged by Repeated Binges
According to various reports, binge drinking by young people is increasing in Britain, the United States, and in developing countries throughout the world. Previous research suggests that binge drinking may have implications for the development of alcohol dependence. Research published in the March 2005 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research has found that binge drinking itself has negative behavioral consequences, affecting mood and cognitive performance.
"There is evidence that repeated, abrupt increases of alcohol levels in the brain, followed by abstinence, induces more damage in the brain than the same amount of alcohol taken uninterrupted in the same length of time," said Theodora Duka, professor at the University of Sussex and corresponding author for the study.
"For instance, animals and humans who have undergone several withdrawals from alcohol will develop convulsions during withdrawal whereas their counterparts who have received the same amount of alcohol but have not experienced repeated withdrawal will not. Thus, we set out on this study to examine the effects of binge drinking on cognitive function."
"The approach of selecting individuals according to their self reports of drinking history and then assessing their mood and other cognitive abilities is unique," added Fulton T. Crews, director of the Center for Alcohol Studies at the University of North Carolina. "These individuals are not seeking treatment or aware of alcohol induced changes in their psychological make up."
Researchers recruited 100 (50 males, 50 females) young (between the ages of 18 and 30 years of age) and healthy moderate-to-heavy social drinkers to answer numerous questions about their alcohol and drug use, as well as their character traits and mood states, and to perform verbal IQ, working memory and vigilance tasks.
Less-Positives Moods
Those individuals identified as binge drinkers reported less-positive moods than did non-binge drinkers. In addition, female binge drinkers performed worse on the working-memory and vigilance tasks than did the female non-binge drinkers.
"Binge drinking is associated with a negative, [as in] depressive, mood," said Duka. "[It is also associated with] an impaired performance in a working memory task, which tests the ability to hold important information in short-term memory to use it for accurate response, and also in a task that measures how well an individual can withhold a response, which under the circumstances is inappropriate. These two latter effects were more pronounced in the female binge drinkers."
Female Impaired More Than Males
"What is particularly novel about this report is the finding that females are impaired more than males," said Crews. "The recent increase in female college student drinking could increase the incidence of females seeking treatment for alcohol dependence over the next decade or two."
Crews added that these findings also provide important biological data on how binge drinking may be associated with the psychological makeup of individuals. "Changes in mood states and executive function can alter behavior in ways that would promote progression to dependence," he said. "This study can not distinguish between mood and cognitive dysfunction promoting binge drinking or binge drinking inducing dysfunction, however, both might be true."
Cognition and Mood Damage
Crews suggested that future studies follow young individuals known to binge drink for several years to better understand the course of their drinking. "If binge drinkers progress to greater mood and cognitive disruption, eventually reaching full criteria for dependence, as is hypothesized, it would be a particularly strong indicator that binge drinking represents a key component in promoting the progression to alcohol dependence. Further, it would more strongly link the behavioral dysfunction caused by binge drinking to development of dependence. It would also be particularly interesting to determine if individuals who stop binge drinking show a reversal of mood and executive deficits."
Duka added that researchers already know that people will self medicate with alcohol if suffering from symptoms of anxiety or depression. "We need to know also whether binge drinking will contribute to anxiety and depression and if the effects of binge drinking and mood add together to impair cognitive performance. We plan to study how such effects of binge drinking on cognition and mood interact with stress," she said.
A call to curb underage drinking
Oregon governor's remarks come on heels of 2 deaths
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
By BRAD CAIN
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SALEM, Ore. -- With Oregon's underage drinking rates running higher than national averages, Gov. Ted Kulongoski said Tuesday that the state needs to get serious about finding ways to discourage drinking among college students as well as high schoolers around Oregon.
Kulongoski said he might push for new state laws to take away driving privileges from youths caught with alcohol and to impose tough penalties against adults who furnish alcohol to minors.
"This is a state crisis, and we have to do something about it," Kulongoski said at a news conference after meeting with members of the Oregon Partnership, an organization that is working to prevent alcohol and drug abuse.
Kulongoski's comments came as student leaders are working to restore the reputation of Oregon State University after two deaths and a serious injury involving alcohol this year.
"Last month's tragic death of 18-year-old Lance Strickland should have been a wake-up call to all of us on this issue," the governor said.
Three OSU football players have been charged with providing alcohol to Strickland, who was found dead in September in a dorm room with more than five times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood.
Kulongoski said the problem extends beyond binge drinking by college-age youths.
He cited statistics showing that 30 percent of Oregon's eighth-graders and 47 percent of its 11th-graders reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days.
Plus, he said teen girls are reporting that it's easy to obtain alcohol and that girls now are drinking as much as boys.
"The earlier kids start drinking, the more likely they are to have a problem with alcohol or other drugs, like meth," in later life, the governor said. "These youth are less likely to succeed in school, and more likely to engage in criminal activity."
Kulongoski said he would ask Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers to create a task force to study tougher sanctions.
"I want to send a message that teen drinking is unacceptable," he said.
Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2005 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
Please Remember: Have fun, but practice moderation. Keep an eye on those you are with. And please, don’t drink and drive!!!!
Binge Drinking Impairs Mood, Congnitive Performance
from ACER News Release
Brain More Damaged by Repeated Binges
According to various reports, binge drinking by young people is increasing in Britain, the United States, and in developing countries throughout the world. Previous research suggests that binge drinking may have implications for the development of alcohol dependence. Research published in the March 2005 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research has found that binge drinking itself has negative behavioral consequences, affecting mood and cognitive performance.
"There is evidence that repeated, abrupt increases of alcohol levels in the brain, followed by abstinence, induces more damage in the brain than the same amount of alcohol taken uninterrupted in the same length of time," said Theodora Duka, professor at the University of Sussex and corresponding author for the study.
"For instance, animals and humans who have undergone several withdrawals from alcohol will develop convulsions during withdrawal whereas their counterparts who have received the same amount of alcohol but have not experienced repeated withdrawal will not. Thus, we set out on this study to examine the effects of binge drinking on cognitive function."
"The approach of selecting individuals according to their self reports of drinking history and then assessing their mood and other cognitive abilities is unique," added Fulton T. Crews, director of the Center for Alcohol Studies at the University of North Carolina. "These individuals are not seeking treatment or aware of alcohol induced changes in their psychological make up."
Researchers recruited 100 (50 males, 50 females) young (between the ages of 18 and 30 years of age) and healthy moderate-to-heavy social drinkers to answer numerous questions about their alcohol and drug use, as well as their character traits and mood states, and to perform verbal IQ, working memory and vigilance tasks.
Less-Positives Moods
Those individuals identified as binge drinkers reported less-positive moods than did non-binge drinkers. In addition, female binge drinkers performed worse on the working-memory and vigilance tasks than did the female non-binge drinkers.
"Binge drinking is associated with a negative, [as in] depressive, mood," said Duka. "[It is also associated with] an impaired performance in a working memory task, which tests the ability to hold important information in short-term memory to use it for accurate response, and also in a task that measures how well an individual can withhold a response, which under the circumstances is inappropriate. These two latter effects were more pronounced in the female binge drinkers."
Female Impaired More Than Males
"What is particularly novel about this report is the finding that females are impaired more than males," said Crews. "The recent increase in female college student drinking could increase the incidence of females seeking treatment for alcohol dependence over the next decade or two."
Crews added that these findings also provide important biological data on how binge drinking may be associated with the psychological makeup of individuals. "Changes in mood states and executive function can alter behavior in ways that would promote progression to dependence," he said. "This study can not distinguish between mood and cognitive dysfunction promoting binge drinking or binge drinking inducing dysfunction, however, both might be true."
Cognition and Mood Damage
Crews suggested that future studies follow young individuals known to binge drink for several years to better understand the course of their drinking. "If binge drinkers progress to greater mood and cognitive disruption, eventually reaching full criteria for dependence, as is hypothesized, it would be a particularly strong indicator that binge drinking represents a key component in promoting the progression to alcohol dependence. Further, it would more strongly link the behavioral dysfunction caused by binge drinking to development of dependence. It would also be particularly interesting to determine if individuals who stop binge drinking show a reversal of mood and executive deficits."
Duka added that researchers already know that people will self medicate with alcohol if suffering from symptoms of anxiety or depression. "We need to know also whether binge drinking will contribute to anxiety and depression and if the effects of binge drinking and mood add together to impair cognitive performance. We plan to study how such effects of binge drinking on cognition and mood interact with stress," she said.
A call to curb underage drinking
Oregon governor's remarks come on heels of 2 deaths
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
By BRAD CAIN
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SALEM, Ore. -- With Oregon's underage drinking rates running higher than national averages, Gov. Ted Kulongoski said Tuesday that the state needs to get serious about finding ways to discourage drinking among college students as well as high schoolers around Oregon.
Kulongoski said he might push for new state laws to take away driving privileges from youths caught with alcohol and to impose tough penalties against adults who furnish alcohol to minors.
"This is a state crisis, and we have to do something about it," Kulongoski said at a news conference after meeting with members of the Oregon Partnership, an organization that is working to prevent alcohol and drug abuse.
Kulongoski's comments came as student leaders are working to restore the reputation of Oregon State University after two deaths and a serious injury involving alcohol this year.
"Last month's tragic death of 18-year-old Lance Strickland should have been a wake-up call to all of us on this issue," the governor said.
Three OSU football players have been charged with providing alcohol to Strickland, who was found dead in September in a dorm room with more than five times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood.
Kulongoski said the problem extends beyond binge drinking by college-age youths.
He cited statistics showing that 30 percent of Oregon's eighth-graders and 47 percent of its 11th-graders reported drinking alcohol in the past 30 days.
Plus, he said teen girls are reporting that it's easy to obtain alcohol and that girls now are drinking as much as boys.
"The earlier kids start drinking, the more likely they are to have a problem with alcohol or other drugs, like meth," in later life, the governor said. "These youth are less likely to succeed in school, and more likely to engage in criminal activity."
Kulongoski said he would ask Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers to create a task force to study tougher sanctions.
"I want to send a message that teen drinking is unacceptable," he said.
Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
Copyright © 2005 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.