ANTERIOR BRAIN DEFICITS IN CHRONIC-ALCOHOLISM - CAUSE OR EFFECT

To investigate the hypothesis of anterior brain involvement in alcohol ism, nonfamilial short-term drinkers (STD) and long-term drinkers (LTD ) were assessed using neuropsychological tests commonly related to fro ntal lobe functions. Both STDs and LTDs were similarly impaired on mea sures of visually mediated concept formation and flexibility of thinki ng. Results from other time-constrained tests that required good conce ntration and immediate memory, visual scanning, and visual-motor coord ination were significantly lower in the LTD group as compared with STD s. The data suggest a dual-factor hypothesis of anterior cerebral dysf unctions in alcoholism: a preexisting deficit in conceptual thinking a nd consequential CNS abnormality (psychomotor slowing, decreased atten tiveness, and immediate memory) associated with prolonged alcohol inta ke, and resembling signs of premature aging.