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Alcoholics’ selective processing of alcohol related words and cognitive performance on a Stroop task

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

F Stetter
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Tübingen; Osianderstr 22, D-72076, Tübingen
C Chaluppa
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Tübingen; Osianderstr 22, D-72076, Tübingen
K Ackermann
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Tübingen; Osianderstr 22, D-72076, Tübingen
ER Straube
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychology, University of Jena, Germany
K Mann
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, University of Tübingen; Osianderstr 22, D-72076, Tübingen
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Summary

Starting from the hypothesis that alcoholics have a specific semantic network which causes a perceptual-processing bias, we tested 30 male inpatients and 20 healthy male controls. Our modified card version of the Stroop color-naming task consisted of a neutral and critical word condition. The results revealed that alcoholic patients showed a small information processing bias under the critical experimental condition (alcohol-related words); although this was only a trend in the expected direction and statistically not significant. However, neuropsychological impairment of the patients was demonstrated with the “standard Stroop procedure”. The most significant deficits were found in the interference task, which requires cognitive flexibility.

Type
Original article
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 1994

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