Alcohol dependence (AD) is associated with multiple cognitive deficits, which can affect treatment outcomes. Current measures of tracking brain recovery (e.g., functional magnetic resonance imaging) can be less accessible for practitioners. This study pilots a novel device (the brain gauge; BG) to assess its utility, and track recovery of cognitive function in residential alcohol treatment. Methods: A repeated measures design assessed changes in cognitive function during detoxification. Twenty-one participants with AD (16 Male; Mean age 43.85 ± 6.21) completed a battery of alcohol and memory questionnaires and BG tasks at two time-points (∼days 4 and 10) during a single managed detoxification episode. Results: Repeated measures ANCOVA revealed that some BG metrics significantly improved, with medium to large effect sizes - processing speed, focus, temporal order judgement and overall cortical metric. However, differences in subjective cognitive function were non-significant after controlling for depression and anxiety change scores. Anxiety change emerged as a significant factor in subjective cognitive function. Conclusions: We conclude it is possible that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) recovers more slowly compared to other brain areas, and there are compounding effects of improvements in anxiety and depression, and metacognitive deficits on subjective EF assessments. Future research should seek to validate the clinical utility of the BG by comparing against established neuroimaging methods.

中文翻译：

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一项初步研究评估大脑量表作为酒精依赖认知恢复的指标

酒精依赖 (AD) 与多种认知缺陷有关，这会影响治疗结果。目前追踪大脑恢复的措施（例如，功能性磁共振成像）对于从业者来说可能不太容易获得。本研究试行了一种新型设备（大脑测量仪；BG）来评估其效用，并跟踪住宅酒精治疗中认知功能的恢复。方法：重复测量设计评估了解毒过程中认知功能的变化。21 名患有 AD 的参与者（16 名男性；平均年龄 43.85 ± 6.21）在单次有管理的排毒活动期间，在两个时间点（~第 4 天和第 10 天）完成了一系列酒精和记忆问卷以及 BG 任务。结果：重复测量 ANCOVA 显示，一些 BG 指标显着改善，具有中到大的影响大小 - 处理速度、焦点、时间顺序判断和整体皮层度量。然而，在控制抑郁和焦虑变化评分后，主观认知功能的差异不显着。焦虑变化成为主观认知功能的一个重要因素。结论：我们的结论是，与其他大脑区域相比，前额叶皮层 (PFC) 的恢复可能更慢，并且焦虑和抑郁的改善以及对主观 EF 评估的元认知缺陷具有复合效应。未来的研究应寻求通过与已建立的神经影像学方法进行比较来验证 BG 的临床效用。焦虑变化成为主观认知功能的一个重要因素。结论：我们的结论是，与其他大脑区域相比，前额叶皮层 (PFC) 的恢复可能更慢，并且焦虑和抑郁的改善以及对主观 EF 评估的元认知缺陷具有复合效应。未来的研究应寻求通过与已建立的神经影像学方法进行比较来验证 BG 的临床效用。焦虑变化成为主观认知功能的一个重要因素。结论：我们的结论是，与其他大脑区域相比，前额叶皮层 (PFC) 的恢复可能更慢，并且焦虑和抑郁的改善以及对主观 EF 评估的元认知缺陷具有复合效应。未来的研究应寻求通过与已建立的神经影像学方法进行比较来验证 BG 的临床效用。