Articles on Blackouts

This resource compiles research abstracts on alcohol-related blackouts and amnesia in alphabetical order by study title or author. Its entries summarize varied topics, including drinking and sexual behavior, blackout prevalence and prediction, memory, and alcohol-related consequences, and point readers to a companion chronological listing.

This resource presents research abstracts about alcohol-related blackouts and amnesia in chronological order. The entries span decades of work on blackout prevalence, predictors, memory, and related harms, and the introduction directs readers to the companion listing arranged alphabetically.

Aaron White’s 2020 review describes changing differences between men’s and women’s alcohol use and related harms in the United States. It summarizes narrowing drinking gaps, increases in adult women’s alcohol-related emergency visits, hospitalizations, and deaths, and research suggesting sex differences in susceptibility to several alcohol-related health effects.

This archival study examined how intoxicated witnesses and suspects appeared in criminal case processing, using records referred to a district attorney’s office. The authors found intoxicated witnesses were about as likely as sober witnesses to describe a culprit and take an identification test, while noting that police records cannot establish how intoxication affected testimony accuracy.

This study surveyed sentenced prisoners in Iceland about intoxication during offenses and police interviews, their mental state, and reasons for confessing. Respondents commonly reported confusion related to alcohol or drugs, while the authors identified perceived strength of evidence, internal pressure, and external pressure as major reported reasons for confession.

This 2017 systematic review examines whether alcohol produces acute tolerance, known as the Mellanby effect, by comparing responses at the same blood alcohol concentration while levels rise and fall. The authors found stronger subjective intoxication and greater stated willingness to drive on the rising curve, while several objective driving-related skills remained more impaired on the falling curve.

This 2020 study followed university students over two years to examine emotional memory in binge drinking, with attention to gender differences. The authors reported that female binge drinkers showed a bias toward negative information and weaker recall of positive and neutral material, while the study found no alcohol-related effects in males.

This 2007 American Prosecutors Research Institute guide addresses how prosecutors can evaluate and present alcohol-facilitated sexual assault cases. It outlines charging decisions, victim credibility and corroborating evidence, trial presentation, and practical materials such as sample voir dire and expert-testimony questions.

This 2006 review examines competing claims about substances described as “date rape drugs,” including sedatives such as GHB and flunitrazepam and claims involving MDMA or methamphetamine. It evaluates how drug effects, consent, and apparent cooperation have been interpreted in sexual-assault cases, while discussing the limits of the evidence and expert testimony involved.

The Drug Enforcement Administration fact sheet identifies Rohypnol as flunitrazepam, a benzodiazepine depressant associated with sedation, reduced anxiety, muscle relaxation, and amnesia. It describes routes of misuse, effects on judgment and coordination, overdose dangers—especially with other depressants—and the drug’s legal status in the United States.

This review describes drug-facilitated sexual assault and drugs commonly associated with it, including benzodiazepines, GHB, rohypnol, and ketamine. It discusses their effects, biological evidence collection, and forensic testing, including the importance of timely sampling and maintaining chain of custody.

This 2007 study examines whether sleep before learning helps people form new episodic memories. In a small experiment, participants kept awake for about 35 hours showed reduced hippocampal activity during memory encoding and poorer later recognition than participants who slept, linking prior sleep loss with impaired memory formation.