007-22 – Testing the Utility of Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy in Detecting Neurocognitive Changes in Alcohol Dependence

Dependent alcohol drinking contributes to cognitive impairments and widespread brain dysfunction; of particular importance are changes in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). This area of the brain is responsible for executive functions among other cognitive abilities critical for recovery processes during treatment for alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Previous studies have used various neuroimaging methods to explore neuropsychological dysfunction in AUD, however, none have used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). This study aims to explore the differences in cognitive functioning and cortical haemodynamics between individuals with AUDs and healthy social drinkers using fNIRS. Forty participants attending an outpatient treatment programme for an AUD, and 40 matched non-dependent social drinkers will undergo fNIRS testing whilst completing a series of cognitive tasks to investigate task-related changes in neurocognitive function. Participants will also complete questionnaires regarding their alcohol use and psychological wellbeing. An independent ANOVA will be conducted comparing cognitive and PFC functioning between the AUD and control groups. Additionally, regression will be used to predict changes in cortical haemodynamics using alcohol use parameters, psychological wellbeing and neurocognitive test scores as predictors. It is predicted that the results will show that the AUD group will perform worse on the cognitive tests and exhibit altered PFC haemodynamics in comparison to the control group. The regression model is expected to show that greater alcohol consumption predicts poorer scores on the cognitive battery and dysfunctional frontal cortex activity. This study will demonstrate the utility of fNIRS in exploring the effect of chronic excessive drinking on neurocognitive functions and help inform treatment approaches in addressing such impairments.