Advisor(s)
Phillip Zoladz
Confirmation
1
Document Type
Poster
Location
ONU McIntosh Center; Activities Room
Start Date
11-4-2025 12:00 PM
End Date
11-4-2025 12:50 PM
Abstract
Stressful, often traumatic, events, such as sexual (or other physical) assaults and motor vehicle accidents, frequently involve individuals who are under the influence of alcohol. Some research suggests that peri-traumatic alcohol ingestion increases the risk for PTSD symptomatology, such as intrusive memories. Indeed, experimental work in neurotypicals has shown that alcohol increases the number of intrusive memories that result from watching an emotionally arousing film. However, no studies have examined the impact of alcohol on what participants remember about a laboratory-controlled stressful event or the number of intrusive memories that result from such an event. We aimed to address this gap in the present study.
Undergraduate students ingested 0.4 g/kg ethanol or a placebo over a period of 30 min. They were then exposed to a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) or the friendly-TSST (f-TSST), both of which were designed to enable participant memory for the experiences to be quantified. The TSST required participants to deliver a ten-minute speech in front of two lab panel members as part of a mock job interview; the f-TSST required participants to casually converse with panel members about their interests and hobbies. In both conditions, the panel members interacted with (central) or did not interact with (peripheral) several objects sitting on a desk in front of them. Participants’ BrAC, subjective intoxication, heart rate, and anxiety levels were assessed before, during, and after the TSST or f-TSST, and saliva samples were collected to assay for cortisol and alpha-amylase. The next day, participants’ memory for the objects that were present on Day 1 was assessed with recall and recognition tests. We also quantified participants’ intrusive memories on Days 2, 4, 6, and 8.
Alcohol led to increased BrAC and subjective intoxication ratings, and TSST exposure resulted in greater subjective anxiety. Participants exposed to the TSST exhibited greater recall of central and peripheral objects and fewer falsely recalled objects than participants exposed to the f-TSST. Participants who ingested alcohol demonstrated greater recognition of central, relative to peripheral objects, an effect that was absent in participants who ingested placebo. Importantly, on Days 2 and 4, participants exposed to the TSST reported a greater number of intrusive memories related to the speech task, and this effect was augmented by alcohol. Our findings suggest that memory for a stressful event is enhanced, relative to memory for a non-stressful event, and that alcohol may increase the development of intrusive memories related to a stressful experience.
Recommended Citation
Kirkland, Jaycee L.; Suzelis, Koen N.; Gurganus, Caeden M.; Farrell, Aiden J.; Siereveld, Kelsey M.; Yuen, Jeremy R.; Ifeakanwa, Jasmine IC; Fleetham, Katherine R.; Stanek, Mercedes L.; Risner, Matthew S.; Blasco, John G.; Rorabaugh, Boyd R.; and Zoladz, Phillip R., "Interactive influence of alcohol and stress on learning and intrusive memories" (2025). ONU Student Research Colloquium. 74.
https://digitalcommons.onu.edu/student_research_colloquium/2025/Posters/74
Restricted
Available to ONU community via local IP address and ONU login.
Interactive influence of alcohol and stress on learning and intrusive memories
ONU McIntosh Center; Activities Room
Stressful, often traumatic, events, such as sexual (or other physical) assaults and motor vehicle accidents, frequently involve individuals who are under the influence of alcohol. Some research suggests that peri-traumatic alcohol ingestion increases the risk for PTSD symptomatology, such as intrusive memories. Indeed, experimental work in neurotypicals has shown that alcohol increases the number of intrusive memories that result from watching an emotionally arousing film. However, no studies have examined the impact of alcohol on what participants remember about a laboratory-controlled stressful event or the number of intrusive memories that result from such an event. We aimed to address this gap in the present study.
Undergraduate students ingested 0.4 g/kg ethanol or a placebo over a period of 30 min. They were then exposed to a modified version of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) or the friendly-TSST (f-TSST), both of which were designed to enable participant memory for the experiences to be quantified. The TSST required participants to deliver a ten-minute speech in front of two lab panel members as part of a mock job interview; the f-TSST required participants to casually converse with panel members about their interests and hobbies. In both conditions, the panel members interacted with (central) or did not interact with (peripheral) several objects sitting on a desk in front of them. Participants’ BrAC, subjective intoxication, heart rate, and anxiety levels were assessed before, during, and after the TSST or f-TSST, and saliva samples were collected to assay for cortisol and alpha-amylase. The next day, participants’ memory for the objects that were present on Day 1 was assessed with recall and recognition tests. We also quantified participants’ intrusive memories on Days 2, 4, 6, and 8.
Alcohol led to increased BrAC and subjective intoxication ratings, and TSST exposure resulted in greater subjective anxiety. Participants exposed to the TSST exhibited greater recall of central and peripheral objects and fewer falsely recalled objects than participants exposed to the f-TSST. Participants who ingested alcohol demonstrated greater recognition of central, relative to peripheral objects, an effect that was absent in participants who ingested placebo. Importantly, on Days 2 and 4, participants exposed to the TSST reported a greater number of intrusive memories related to the speech task, and this effect was augmented by alcohol. Our findings suggest that memory for a stressful event is enhanced, relative to memory for a non-stressful event, and that alcohol may increase the development of intrusive memories related to a stressful experience.