IMPAIRMENTS OF BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR - THE NEUROLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL

Chronic heavy drinking and alcoholism can have serious repercussions f or the functioning of the entire nervous system, particularly the brai n. These effects include changes in emotions and personality as well a s impaired perception, learning, and memory. Neuropathological and ima ging techniques have provided evidence of physical brain abnormalities in alcoholics, such as atrophy of nerve cells and brain shrinkage. At the cellular level, alcohol appears to directly affect brain function in a variety of ways, primarily by interfering with the action of glu tamate, gamma-aminobutyric acid, and other neurotransmitters. Neurolog ical disorders also can result from vitamin deficiency and liver disea se, two health problems that commonly occur with alcoholism. Other hyp otheses, based on factors such as aging, gender, and genetics, have be en developed to explain various alcohol-related neurological consequen ces. Many pharmacological treatments to improve neuropsychological fun ctioning in alcoholics have been tested but none has proved entirely s uccessful. With prolonged abstinence, however, slow recovery of cognit ive functioning can occur in some cases.