Prospective memory impairments in heavy social drinkers are partially overcome by future event simulation

BACKGROUND: Recent research suggests that alcohol acutely impairs prospective memory (PM), and this impairment can be overcome using a strategy called ‘future event simulation’ (FES). Impairment in event-based PM found in detoxifying alcohol-dependent participants is reversed through FES. However, the impact of the most common problematic drinking patterns that do not involve alcohol dependence on PM remains unclear. AIMS: Here, we examine the impact of frequent heavy drinking on PM and the degree to which any impairments can be reversed through FES. METHODS: PM was assessed in 19 heavy drinkers (AUDIT scores ≥15) and 18 matched control participants (AUDIT scores ≤7) using the ‘Virtual Week’ task both at baseline and again following FES. RESULTS: Heavy drinkers performed significantly worse than controls on regular and irregular time-based PM tasks. FES improved the performance of controls but not of heavy drinkers on time-based tasks. In contrast, FES improved heavy drinkers’ performance on event-based PM tasks. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that heavy drinkers experience deficits in strategic monitoring processing associated with time-based PM tasks which do not abate after FES. That the same strategy improves their event-based PM suggests that FES may be helpful for individuals with problematic drinking patterns in improving their prospective memory.