An observational study in Alcohol Use Disorder, sponsored by Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France. Completed at 1 site in France. Open to participants aged 30 Years to 60 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-04-27.
Sponsored by Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France · Observational
Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a major public health problem, characterized by a high rate of relapse. Chronic and excessive alcohol consumption notably induces frontal brain alterations and cognitive impairments such as executive dysfunction and an attentional bias for alcohol, participating to the risk of relapse. In effect, AUD patients preferentially process alcohol-related cues, which could reflect a reorganization of the patients' semantic network. The investigators hypothesize that in AUD patients, semantic associations in memory are reorganized with a higher centrality of alcohol-related elements. To the investigators knowledge, no studies have explored semantic associations and/or semantic networks in AUD.
A study, conducted in patients with neurological damage, showed that frontal lesions are associated with excessive strength in semantic associations, and difficulties to generate remote associations. This excessive strength in semantic associations could reduce the ability to inhibit automatisms and to adapt to new context.
Objective: The objective of this study is to explore whether and how AUD patients have a different organization of semantic associations than healthy controls, and whether this reorganization influences the alcohol consumption over the months following the withdrawal. The investigators will also explore how it relates to neuropsychological assessment of flexibility, executive functions, and impulsivity. To these purposes, the investigators will use two original verbal tasks (Free Generation of Associates Task, FGAT and Associative Judgment Task, AJT) assessing word associations and allowing the estimation of semantic networks using graph theory, in combination with neuropsychological testing, in AUD patients and in healthy controls.
Methods: This study will include a group of 30 AUD patients and a group of 30 healthy controls. Both groups will be assessed twice, at baseline (T1; early in abstinence for AUD patients) and after a three-month period (T3). For the two groups, T1 and T3 assessments will include the two semantic association tasks (FGAT and AJT). For AUD patients, assessments will also involve neuropsychological testing of impulsivity, flexibility, and attentional bias. Besides, in AUD patients, data about alcohol consumptions will be collected six weeks (T2) and three months (T3) following the baseline assessment to classify patients as relapsers or abstainers.
1,606 studies on the registry are indexed under Alcoholism; 329 are open to participants now.
This study's enrollment of 41 is below the median of 180 across 173 observational studies indexed under Alcoholism.
Browse Alcoholism studies →Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France is the lead sponsor of 375 studies on the registry; 82 are open to participants now.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Two groups of participants will be included in this study. The first one consists of a pool of alcohol use disorder, the second one consists of a pool of healthy controls ; they will be matched as much as possible on age, gender, and educational level.
For alcohol use disorder patients
For healthy controls
Exclusion Criteria:
For alcohol use disorder patients
For healthy controls
Description of the semantic associations using FGAT
The Free Generation Associated Tasks will be used in Alcohol use disorder patients and Healthy controls
Time frame: At baseline (T1)
Description of the semantic associations using AJT
The Associative Judgment Task will be used in Alcohol use disorder patients and Healthy controls
Time frame: At baseline (T1)
Impact of medications on the semantic association performance
Time frame: At baseline (T1)
Impact of age on the semantic association performance
Time frame: At baseline (T1)
Impact of the study level on the semantic association performance
Time frame: At baseline (T1)
Impact of gender on the semantic association performance
Time frame: At baseline (T1)
Impact of the duration of dependence on the semantic association performance
Time frame: At baseline (T1)
Impact of cognitive performance on the semantic association performance
The Go /No Go performance will be collected in Alcohol use disorder patients
Time frame: At baseline (T1)
Test of the predictive value of FGAT performance assessed at T1 on alcohol consumption during the six weeks following the Baseline
Time frame: Baseline (T1) for FGAT ; T2 (6 weeks after T1) for alcohol consumption
Test of the predictive value of AJT performance assessed at T1 on alcohol consumption during the six weeks following the Baseline
Time frame: Baseline (T1) for AJT ; T2 (6 weeks after T1) for alcohol consumption
Test of the predictive value of FGAT performance assessed at T1 on alcohol consumption during the three months following the Baseline
Time frame: Baseline (T1) for FGAT ; T3 (3 months after T1) for alcohol consumption
Test of the predictive value of AJT performance assessed at T1 on alcohol consumption during the three months following the Baseline
Time frame: Baseline (T1) for AJT ; T3 (3 months after T1) for alcohol consumption
Evolution of FGAT performance, comparison between alcohol use disorder patients and healthy controls
Time frame: T1 (baseline) and T3 (3 months after baseline)
Evolution of AJT performance, comparison between alcohol use disorder patients and healthy controls
Time frame: T1 (baseline) and T3 (3 months after baseline)
Link between the evolution of FGAT performance and the level of alcohol consumption
The level of alcohol consumption will be assessed using the Timeline Followback method
Time frame: Baseline (T1) for FGAT and 3 months after baseline (T3) for FGAT and the level of alcohol consumption)
Link between the evolution of AJT performance and alcohol consumption
The level of alcohol consumption will be assessed using the Timeline Followback method
Time frame: Baseline (T1) for AJT and 3 months after baseline (T3) for AJT and the level of alcohol consumption)
Link between the evolution of FGAT performance and the evolution of cognitive performance
The Go /No Go performance will be used in alcohol use disorder patients
Time frame: Baseline (T1) and 3 months after baseline (T3)
Link between the evolution of AJT performance and the evolution of cognitive performance
The Go /No Go performance will be used in alcohol use disorder patients
Time frame: Baseline (T1) and 3 months after baseline (T3)
This study is completed, as verified in Apr 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.
Sign in to followQuestions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.
Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.
Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.
Institut National de la Santé Et de la Recherche Médicale, France