It’s no surprise that someone experiences memory loss, or a “blackout,” while drinking. Although power outages are common, they are considered a public health concern related to injuries, arrests, assaults, and overdoses. Given these results, being able to identify and intervene in outages could reduce people’s risk of alcohol-related harm.
Researchers at the University of Missouri School of Medicine have developed a way to identify power outages in real time. In this study, 63 participants completed a memory test while actively drinking. They looked at the images and had to report what they remembered after 15 minutes. In theory, not remembering the image would mean there was a power outage. The researchers compared real-time memory tests about these power outages to participants’ self-reported experiences the next day to determine whether a power outage occurred.
In our study, there was a moderate correlation between not remembering images while drinking and self-reported loss of consciousness the next day. In contrast, people who remembered all the images they saw while drinking more than 90% of the time did not self-report a blackout the next day. ”
mary beth miller, author
These memory tests are a breakthrough in alcohol research and are the first scales ever created to objectively measure alcohol-induced blackouts, Miller said.
“The biggest barrier to studying power outages is not knowing when they will occur,” Miller said. “Being able to identify power outages in real time can help us understand when and why they occur.”
Researchers are still testing and building memory testing tools. Because study participants were primarily young people who drink socially, different populations may have different results, such as older adults with alcohol use disorders. We also want to see if the results change after giving participants more information to remember.
Miller said the goal is to create an app that accurately identifies power outages rather than ruling them out, but friends going out for drinks could use the same testing method.
“The memory test is a quick and easy way to gauge your friend’s risk of losing power while you’re out drinking. If you’re worried about your friend, just tell them what you need to remember and ask about it about 15 minutes later,” Miller said. “If they don’t remember, it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re confused, but I’ll keep an eye on them. If they remember, you might feel a little relieved. They may not have made good decisions, but our data shows they’ll probably remember those decisions tomorrow.”
Dr. Mary Beth Miller is an associate professor of psychiatry and director of the Health Interventions and Treatments Laboratory at Mizzou School of Medicine.
sauce:
University of Missouri Columbia
Reference magazines:
Miller, M.B.; Others. (2026). Predictive value of real-time memory tests for identifying alcohol-induced syncope in the field. addiction. DOI: 10.1111/add.70446. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/add.70446
