Affective impairments in binge drinking: Investigation through emotional facial expression decoding

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Serval ID
serval:BIB_3AD2D8234E88
Type
Article: article from journal or magazin.
Collection
Publications
Title
Affective impairments in binge drinking: Investigation through emotional facial expression decoding
Journal
Comprehensive Psychiatry
Author(s)
Lannoy Séverine, Dormal Valérie, Brion Mélanie, Gaudelus Baptiste, Billieux Joël, Maurage Pierre
ISSN
0010-440X
Publication state
Published
Issued date
2018
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
83
Pages
59-63
Language
english
Abstract
Objective: Binge drinking, an excessive alcohol consumption pattern frequently observed in young people, is
known to be associated with psychological and cerebral deficits.While cognitive dysfunctions have beenwidely
investigated, emotional abilities have scarcely been explored. Such an exploration would however offer a more
exhaustive understanding of the deficits associated with binge drinking, as well as of the possible transition
towards alcohol-dependence.
Methods: 46 young adults (23 binge drinkers, 12 women; 23 control participants, 12 women) were recruited
among university students. They performed an emotional recognition task consisting of the visual decoding of
six basic emotions (i.e. anger, contempt, disgust, fear, happiness, and sadness). Accuracy scores and detection
thresholds were collected for each emotion.
Results: Binge drinkers showed lower performance than control participants for the decoding of all emotions and
increased detection threshold, this later reflecting less ability to capture an emotion. Binge drinking is thus
associated with a need for higher emotional intensity to perform correct detection. Moreover, these emotional
difficulties appear specifically related to alcohol consumption.
Conclusion: These findings reinforce previous experimental evidence of altered emotional processing among
binge drinkers, and extend these results for various emotional contents. They support the hypothesis of a
continuum between binge drinking and alcohol-dependence, in which massive emotional impairments have
been documented. Indeed, these impairments could be involved in the onset and maintenance of excessive
alcohol consumption, notably through the established relationship between emotional deficits and social distress.
Keywords
Clinical Psychology, Psychiatry and Mental health, Binge Drinking, Emotion
Pubmed
Web of science
Create date
10/01/2020 9:30
Last modification date
15/01/2020 11:04
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