ORIGINAL ARTICLE Impaired Generalization of Associative Learning in Patients with Alcohol Dependence After Intermediate-term Abstinence

Aims: We used an associative learning task in order to investigate cognitive dysfunctions in alcohol dependence. This test is suitable for the assessment of stimulus-response learning and memory generalization (acquired equivalence), which is related to medial temporal lobe functioning. Methods: Twenty patients with alcohol dependence (abstinence: >6 months) and 20 matched healthy controls participated in the study. In the task, antecedent stimuli were cartoon faces (girl, boy, man and woman) and conse- quent stimuli were color cartoon fishes. The task was to learn face-fish associations using feedback. In the transfer phase, the fish- face pairs were generalized to new associations. Results: There was no significant difference between patients and controls during the acquisition phase of fish-face associations. In the transfer phase, patients were impaired relative to controls. We found no associ- ation between task performance and intelligence quotient. Conclusion: These results suggest that abstinent patients with alcohol de- pendence show marked dysfunctions in the generalization of associations, which may indicate the dysfunction of the medial temporal lobe.