Editing Working memory (section)

=== Effects of alcohol on neurophysiology ===
Excessive alcohol use can result in brain damage which impairs working memory.<ref name="pmid21466500">{{cite journal | vauthors = van Holst RJ, Schilt T | title = Drug-related decrease in neuropsychological functions of abstinent drug users | journal = Current Drug Abuse Reviews | volume = 4 | issue = 1 | pages = 42–56 | date = March 2011 | pmid = 21466500 | doi = 10.2174/1874473711104010042 }}</ref> Alcohol has an effect on the [[Blood-oxygen-level dependent|blood-oxygen-level-dependent]] (BOLD) response. The BOLD response correlates increased blood oxygenation with brain activity, which makes this response a useful tool for measuring neuronal activity.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Jacobus J, Tapert SF | title = Neurotoxic effects of alcohol in adolescence | journal = Annual Review of Clinical Psychology | volume = 9 | issue = 1 | pages = 703–721 | year = 2013 | pmid = 23245341 | pmc = 3873326 | doi = 10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-050212-185610 }}</ref> The BOLD response affects regions of the brain such as the basal ganglia and thalamus when performing a working memory task. Adolescents who start drinking at a young age show a decreased BOLD response in these brain regions.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Weiland BJ, Nigg JT, Welsh RC, Yau WY, Zubieta JK, Zucker RA, Heitzeg MM | title = Resiliency in adolescents at high risk for substance abuse: flexible adaptation via subthalamic nucleus and linkage to drinking and drug use in early adulthood | journal = Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research | volume = 36 | issue = 8 | pages = 1355–1364 | date = August 2012 | pmid = 22587751 | pmc = 3412943 | doi = 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2012.01741.x }}</ref> Alcohol dependent young women in particular exhibit less of a BOLD response in parietal and frontal cortices when performing a spatial working memory task.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Tapert SF, Brown GG, Kindermann SS, Cheung EH, Frank LR, Brown SA | title = fMRI measurement of brain dysfunction in alcohol-dependent young women | journal = Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research | volume = 25 | issue = 2 | pages = 236–245 | date = February 2001 | pmid = 11236838 | doi = 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2001.tb02204.x }}</ref> Binge drinking, specifically, can also affect one's performance on working memory tasks, particularly visual working memory.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Ferrett HL, Carey PD, Thomas KG, Tapert SF, Fein G | title = Neuropsychological performance of South African treatment-naïve adolescents with alcohol dependence | journal = Drug and Alcohol Dependence | volume = 110 | issue = 1–2 | pages = 8–14 | date = July 2010 | pmid = 20227839 | pmc = 4456395 | doi = 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2010.01.019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Crego A, Holguín SR, Parada M, Mota N, Corral M, Cadaveira F | title = Binge drinking affects attentional and visual working memory processing in young university students | journal = Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research | volume = 33 | issue = 11 | pages = 1870–1879 | date = November 2009 | pmid = 19673739 | doi = 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2009.01025.x | hdl-access = free | hdl = 10347/16832 }}</ref> Additionally, there seems to be a gender difference in regards to how alcohol affects working memory. While women perform better on verbal working memory tasks after consuming alcohol compared to men, they appear to perform worse on spatial working memory tasks as indicated by less brain activity.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Greenstein JE, Kassel JD, Wardle MC, Veilleux JC, Evatt DP, Heinz AJ, Roesch LL, Braun AR, Yates MC | display-authors = 6 | title = The separate and combined effects of nicotine and alcohol on working memory capacity in nonabstinent smokers | journal = Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology | volume = 18 | issue = 2 | pages = 120–128 | date = April 2010 | pmid = 20384423 | doi = 10.1037/a0018782 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Squeglia LM, Schweinsburg AD, Pulido C, Tapert SF | title = Adolescent binge drinking linked to abnormal spatial working memory brain activation: differential gender effects | journal = Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research | volume = 35 | issue = 10 | pages = 1831–1841 | date = October 2011 | pmid = 21762178 | pmc = 3183294 | doi = 10.1111/j.1530-0277.2011.01527.x }}</ref> Finally, age seems to be an additional factor. Older adults are more susceptible than others to the [[Effects of alcohol on memory|effects of alcohol on working memory]].<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Boissoneault J, Sklar A, Prather R, Nixon SJ | title = Acute effects of moderate alcohol on psychomotor, set shifting, and working memory function in older and younger social drinkers | journal = Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs | volume = 75 | issue = 5 | pages = 870–879 | date = September 2014 | pmid = 25208205 | pmc = 4161706 | doi = 10.15288/jsad.2014.75.870 }}</ref>