Sex-related differences in young binge drinkers on the neurophysiological response to stress in virtual reality.

Background: Stress is one of the main environmental factors involved in the onset of different psychopathologies. In youth, stressful life events can trigger inappropriate and health-damaging behaviors, such as binge drinking. This behavior, in turn, can lead to long-lasting changes in the neurophysiological response to stress and the development of psychological disorders late in life, e.g., alcohol use disorder. Our aim was to analyze the pattern of neurophysiological responses triggered with the exposition to a stressful virtual environment in young binge drinkers. Methods: AUDIT-3 (third question from the full AUDIT) was used to detect binge drinking (BD) in our young sample (age 18-25 years). According to the score, participants were divided into control (CO) and BD group. Next, a standardized virtual reality (VR) scenario (Richie's Plank) was used for triggering the stress response while measuring the following neurophysiological variables: brain electrical activity by electroencephalogram (EEG) and cortisol levels through saliva samples both measurements registered before and after the stressful situation. Besides, heart rate (HR) with a pulsometer and electrodermal response (EDA) through electrodes placed on fingers were analyzed before, during and after the VR task. Results: Regarding the behavior assessed during the VR task, BD group spent significantly less amount of time walking forward the table and a tendency toward more time walking backwards. There was no statistically significant difference between the BD and the CO group regarding time looking down, but when we controlled the variable sex, the BD women group displayed higher amount of time looking down than the rest of the groups. Neurophysiological measurements revealed that there was not any statistically significant difference between groups in any of the EEG registered measures, EDA response and cortisol levels. Sex-related differences were found in HR response to VR scenario, in which BD women displayed the highest peak of response to the stressor. Also, the change in heartbeat was higher in BD women than men. Conclusion: Unveiling the neurophysiological alterations associated with BD can help us to prevent and detect early onset of alcohol use disorder. Also, from our data we conclude that participants' sex can modulate some stress responses, especially when unhealthy behaviors such as BD are present. Nevertheless, the moment of registration of the neurophysiological variables respect to the stressor seems to be a crucial variable.

Emotional eating, internet overuse, and alcohol intake among college students: a pilot study with virtual reality.

Introduction: The term emotional eating (EE) describes the tendency to eat as an automatic response to negative emotions and has been linked to anxiety and depression, common symptoms among the university population. The EE tendencies have also been associated with excessive internet use and an increase in alcohol intake among young university students. Methods: The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between the tendency towards EE and other health-compromising behaviors, such as excessive internet use or high alcohol intake. Additionally, it aims to investigate the association of these risky behaviors with the participants' performance level in a virtual reality (VR) task that assesses their executive functioning, and to assess impulsivity and levels of anxiety and depression. Results: The results associate EE with excessive internet (r = 0.332; p < 0.01). use but not with alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption was not associated with anxiety, depression, or impulsivity, but it was related to altered executive functions in the VR task: flexibility and working memory explained 24.5% of the variance. By contrast, EE and internet overuse were not related to executive function but were associated with impulsivity, depression, and anxiety. Impulsivity and depressive symptoms accounted for 45% of the variance in EE. Depression, trait anxiety and impulsivity explained 40.6% of the variance in internet overuse. Discussion: The results reveal distinct patterns of psychological and neuropsychological alterations associated with alcohol consumption compared to emotional eating (EE) and excessive internet use. These findings underscore significant differences in the contributing factors between addictions and other substance-free addictive behaviors. For a deeper understanding of the various contributing factors to EE in college students, further research is recommended.