Abstract
Background: To examine the applicability of an alcohol-avoidance training procedure in patients with alcohol dependence and alcohol-induced neurocognitive disorders, we trained two groups that differed in the degree of cognitive impairment: One group fulfilled the DSM-5 criteria for Alcohol-Induced Mild Neurocognitive Disorder, and one group was diagnosed with Korsakoff's syndrome (Alcohol-Induced Major Neurocognitive Disorder, Confabulatory/Amnesic subtype; DSM-5). The intervention is assumed to match the preserved cognitive capacity for implicit learning in both groups. Methods: 51 Inpatients with a mild neurocognitive disorder and 54 inpatients with Korsakoff's syndrome were trained. Six training sessions (including pre- and posttests) of a computerized implicit alcohol approach-avoidance task were applied. Neurocognitive variables were available from the standard assessment procedure of the clinic. Results: Training of alcohol-avoidance tendencies is feasible in a population with alcohol-related neurocognitive disorders. The alcohol-approach bias decreased for both groups in each session. Better learning results over time were obtained in participants with a larger baseline alcohol-approach tendency. Learning effects were positively related to age and implicit (non-declarative) memory functioning. No relation between training effects and executive or explicit memory functions were found. Conclusions: Training of an alcohol avoidance tendency can be successfully applied in patients with alcohol-dependence including those with alcohol-induced neurocognitive disorders.
