EVIDENCE OF ALCOHOL-RELATED EFFICIENCY DEFICITS IN AN EPISODIC LEARNING-TASK

Using a component processes model, the current study examined the cogn itive processes of alcoholic and community control subjects engaged in the acquisition of new context-bound (e,g,, episodic) information. Of particular interest was whether alcoholics were inferior to controls in the efficiency with which information was acquired and whether ther e was a gender x group interaction in cognitive efficiency. Alcoholic (n = 16 females; n = 22 males) and community control (n = 21 females; n = 21 males) subjects participated in a serial learning task that con sisted of three 12-item word lists. Standard administration protocols for serial learning tasks were used, On efficiency measures, there wer e significant differences between groups [F(1,75) = 8.51, p = 0.005] a nd sexes [F(1,75) = 4.05, p 0.048], There was also a group x sex inter action [F(1,75) = 7.73, p = 0.007]. Duncan multiple-range comparisons revealed alcoholic females to be significantly inferior to control fem ales, but equivalent to male controls and alcoholics. These data are c onsistent with other studies revealing the sensitivity of cognitive ef ficiency to alcohol-related effects and extend previous findings to ta sks involving episodic teaming tasks.