Mental Imagery Skills in Alcohol-Dependent Subjects and Their Associations With Cognitive Performance: An Exploratory Study During Residential Rehabilitation

Marcella Ottonello; Elisa Torselli; Stefano Caneva; Elena Fiabane; Claudio Vassallo; Caterina Pistarini

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.741900

Mental Imagery Skills in Alcohol-Dependent Subjects and Their Associations With Cognitive Performance: An Exploratory Study During Residential Rehabilitation

Front Psychiatry. 2021 Nov 29:12:741900. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.741900. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Marcella Ottonello¹, Elisa Torselli², Stefano Caneva³, Elena Fiabane¹, Claudio Vassallo¹, Caterina Pistarini⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine of Genova Nervi Institute, Istituti Clinici Scientifici (ICS) Maugeri Spa SB, Genoa, Italy.
² School of Psychotherapy, Miller Institute for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy, Genoa, Italy.
³ Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
⁴ Department of Neurorehabilitation Medicine of Pavia Institute, Istituti Clinici Scientifici (ICS) Maugeri, Istituti di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Spa SB, Pavia, Italy.

Abstract

People in alcohol-detoxification experience deficits in motor and non-motor functions including cognitive performance. Imagery, the cognitive process of generating visual, auditory or kinesthetic experiences in the mind without the presence of external stimuli, has been little studied in Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD). This pilot study aims to observe the cognitive abilities useful for the inspection, maintenance, generation and manipulation of images in these patients during residential rehabilitation and investigate the relationships with their cognitive performance. Thirty-six subjects who completed the 28-day rehabilitation program for alcohol addiction, completed the Mental Imagery Test (MIT) and Neuropsychological Battery (ENB-2). The global score at MIT did not show pathological scores. The 11.1% of AUD patients showed an impaired global score in the cognitive performance and the 5.7% with scoring at limits of norm. Significant correlations were found between Mental Imagery abilities and ENB-2 subscale and stepwise regression analysis showed the close association between the ability of imagery (Mental Imagery Test) and the overall cognitive performance (ENB-2) in alcohol dependent patients and this relationship is stronger than other cognitive tasks.

Keywords: alcohol detoxification; alcohol-dependence; cognitive rehabilitation; mental disorders; mental imagery (MI).