Analysis of the Causes, Effects, and Treatment of Alcohol Use Disorder

Abstract

The number of people with alcohol problems is increasing year by year. There is a trend people of younger ages are even more affected by this issue. Alcohol use disorder is an important issue that contemporary society has started paying attention to, thereby making it one of the key topics of today's research. Researchers have made progress in determining the causes and effects of alcohol use disorder, but there are still gaps in research in certain areas, as well as a lack of unified explanations regarding the issues with cognition that alcohol problems cause. In that sense, studies have been conducted on how alcohol use disorder affects working memory, along with other aspects of cognition. Yet, these studies conclude that additional research is necessary in order to discover how the working memory abilities of people with alcohol use disorder can be increased. In studies of alcohol use disorder causes the physical and emotional aspects, experts note that decision-making processes, positive emotions, and negative experiences are common factors that lead to the disorder. To explore therapy and suggestions to treat alcohol use disorder, this paper examined the literature of negative impact of alcohol use disorders on working memory. The results of the analysis concluded that alcohol use disorder severely affects cognition, especially working memory. Further findings determine that combining behavioral therapy and medications is the best strategy patients can have when they are reluctant to stop using alcohol. The consequences of alcohol use disorder are also provided, including both the physical aspects and the cognitive impacts that affect people’s daily lives.