SynthesisPsychopharmacology2022
Effects of acute alcohol administration on working memory: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Psychopharmacology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Menstrual cycle phase affects alcohol impairment of working memory.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2025Trial
- Effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid on working memory and attention: A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover trial.Journal of psychopharmacology (Oxford, England) · 2023Trial
- Alcohol, Cancer, Neurobiology, and Aviation Safety: Implications for Aerospace Medicine and Pilot Health.Cureus · 2026Review
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Combined With Electroencephalography Analysis Suggest Time-Dependent and Region-Specific Modulation of Cortical Excitability During Acute Alcohol Intoxication.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2026Article
- Event-level impacts of proximal responsibilities and impulsive traits on drinking behavior during real-world drinking episodes.Psychology of addictive behaviors : journal of the Society of Psychologists in Addictive Behaviors · 2026Article
- Effects of legal-market cannabis and alcohol on verbal learning and memory.Psychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Correlation between BAC and abdominal muscle alcohol concentration: a promising parachute matrix in cases of severe injury.Forensic science, medicine, and pathology · 2026Article
- Alcohol, flexible behavior, and the prefrontal cortex: Functional changes underlying impaired cognitive flexibility.Neuropharmacology · 2024Review
- The potential mechanisms underlying the effect of acute alcohol use on duration perception.Addiction biology · 2024Article
- Does alcohol consumption elevate smoking relapse risk of people who used to smoke? Differences by duration of smoking abstinence.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2024Article
- Sex-specific effects of alcohol on neurobehavioral performance and endoplasmic reticulum stress: an analysis using neuron-specific MANF deficient mice.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- The impact of abstinence from chronic alcohol consumption on the mouse striatal proteome: sex and subregion-specific differences.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2024Article
- Commentary on Horn et al.: The outcome expectancy in the 'alcohol-gambling cocktail'.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
rationaleAlcohol-induced executive function deficits may underlie associations between alcohol, self-regulation, and hazardous behaviors. Studies examining the effects of alcohol administration on working memory, an important executive functioning component, have produced mixed findings. Acute alcohol effects on working memory remain unclear.
objectivesWe aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on the effects of acute alcohol administration on working memory outcomes in studies of healthy adults.
methodsWe performed a systematic search of PubMed, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO from inception to June 2021. Studies were included if they met criteria, including healthy participants and administration of quantified alcohol doses against comparative controls. Data extracted included primary working memory outcomes, alcohol doses, and study characteristics. Study quality was assessed using an established validity measure. Working memory task type, alcohol dose, control condition type, and sex/gender composition were explored as moderators using mixed-effects models and meta-regressions.
resultsThirty-two studies (1629 participants) provided sufficient data for 54 comparisons between alcohol and control conditions. Random-effects meta-analysis indicated that alcohol administration produced significant, small- to medium-sized working memory decrements (g [95% CI] = - 0.300 [- 0.390 to - 0.211], p < 0.001). Moderation analyses suggested that these effects differed as a function of task type, dose, control condition type, and sex/gender composition. The average quality rating across studies was good.
conclusionsAlcohol administration significantly impaired working memory performance, particularly when executive-related manipulation processes were involved. Future research is needed to investigate how alcohol-induced working memory impairments relate to compromised self-regulation, hazardous behavior, and negative drinking consequences.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.