Alcohol consumption, holistic processing, and attentional biases in non-dependent drinkers

Alcohol consumption is associated with the development of attentional biases for alcohol-related stimuli and their prioritisation in individuals reporting higher levels of alcohol use. Holisitc processing, which consists of the integration of object features into a unitary percept, may also play a crucial role in prioritising these stimuli, given its involvement during the early stage of visual processing of object of expertise.

However, it is unclear how processing stimuli holistically is related to attentional biases, specifically whether these cognitive processes are functionally independent or not. Furthermore, it is uncertain how excessive alcohol use may impact the early stage of visual processing, particularly holistic perception.

Therefore, this thesis comprises two main aims. Firstly, it investigated the relationship between attentional biases and holistic processing for alcohol-related stimuli in individuals with riskier drinking behaviours. This investigation included an initial online study (Chapter 2) and a following eye-tracking study (Chapter 3). Secondly, considering the relevance of the holistic perception in face processing, the thesis also investigated the relationship between alcohol consumption and face perception processing. This investigation began with a behavioural online study (Chapter 4), and then explored whether poorer face processing in individuals with drinking behaviours is due to a competition of resources readdressed to the processing of alcohol-related stimuli using an EEG study (Chapter 5).

The novel findings of this thesis highlight that holistic processing and attentional biases are functionally distinct processes, independently affected by alcohol use. Considering the crucial role played by holistic perception in face processing ability, this thesis also emphasized that increased use of alcohol is associated with an overall atypicality of holistic processing, correlated with poorer face perception and subsequent challenges in face recognition. Acknowledging these findings enriches the general knowledge of the cognitive processes affected by alcohol consumption and provides insights for future research in the field of alcohol use.