Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with health, social and school problems. As for moderate drinking, opinions differ depending on authors. Taking account of the way young people drink alcohol and their particular sensibilities to alcoholism at neuroanatomical level, we are led to wonder about the impact of moderate alcohol consumption on their cognitive abilities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of moderate alcohol consumption on memory capacity, and more specifically on explicit learning capacity using the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) that is to say a memory test for young people. To do this, 56 young people were selected and divided into four groups including one control group (with a blood alcohol content of 0.0 g/l) and three experimental groups (with blood alcohol contents of 0.2, 0.5 and 0.8 g/l). Each group comprised two sub-groups (occasional and regular drinkers). Participants were subjected to a neuropsychological test, namely learning words from list A of the CVLT. The results of this study showed that alcohol consumption, even in moderate doses, significantly perturb immediate memory, thereby significantly reducing the ability to learn words for occasional drinkers (OD), especially when the blood alcohol content is 0.8 g/l. It also appears that regular drinkers (RD) are better able to tolerate the acute effects of alcohol, when blood alcohol contents are above 0.5 g/l. Schoolchildren are therefore advised to avoid drinking even at moderate dose in the school environment.

The objective of this study was to find the daily dose that could be safely consumed during the gestation period. Moderate doses of alcohol were administered to rats during gestation and the effects on the memory of progeny were assessed. The data indicate that from 0.3 gram per liter, any dose of alcohol becomes potentially harmful to the health of a fetus. Below this dose (0.1 grams per liter), even if the results obtained are not different from those of the controls, it is necessary to remain cautious since this study appreciates only one aspect on the memory. Indeed, there may be abnormalities on other functions with a daily consumption of 0.1grams per liter. It is therefore important to stress that the most cautious recommendation is abstinence throughout pregnancy because the dose limit Remains unknown.