ABSTRACT
Numerous reviews of neuropsychological studies have reported that compared with non-alcoholic peers, sober alcoholics perform at significantly lower levels on tests of abstracting, problem solving, new learning, memory, perceptual, and perceptual motor functions. Through complementary pneumo-encephalographic, electroencephalograph and other neurological examinations, these deficits have likewise been associated with cortical structural changes and ventricular enlargement (Ron, 1983; Pfefferbaum et al., 1990; Harper and Kril, 1991), fronto-limbic-diencephalic lesions and hypothalamic degeneration (Page and Cleveland, 1987; Ron, 1983; Harper and Kril, 1991). For example, Event Related Potential (ERP) studies report alcohol induced altered responses in different ERP-components such as N1, N2 and P3, indicating impairment of brain functions that support selective attention to relevant information and that mediate perceptual discrimination (Parsons et al, 1990; Jääskeläinen, 1995).
