Neurocircuitry in alcoholism: a substrate of disruption and repair

The chronic, excessive consumption of alcohol results in significant modification of selective neural systems of the brain structure, physiology, and function. Quantitative MR structural imaging, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and functional MRI (fMRI), together with neuropsychological challenges,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inPsychopharmacology Vol. 180; no. 4; pp. 583 - 594
Main Authors Sullivan, Edith V, Pfefferbaum, Adolf
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Germany Springer Nature B.V 01.08.2005
Subjects
Aging - pathology
Alcoholism
Alcoholism - complications
Alcoholism - pathology
Alcoholism - physiopathology
Alzheimer's disease
Animals
Ataxia
Behavioral sciences
Brain
Brain Diseases - etiology
Brain Diseases - pathology
Brain Mapping
Diagnostic Imaging - methods
Humans
Nerve Net - pathology
Nerve Net - physiopathology
Neuropsychology
Physiology
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:The chronic, excessive consumption of alcohol results in significant modification of selective neural systems of the brain structure, physiology, and function. Quantitative MR structural imaging, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and functional MRI (fMRI), together with neuropsychological challenges, have enabled rigorous in vivo characterization of the results of alcoholism on the brain in the human condition. Neuroimaging has also enabled longitudinal study for the examination of alcoholism's dynamic course through periods of drinking and sobriety. Controlled studies have revealed compelling evidence for alcohol-related brain structural and functional modification--some longstanding, some transient, and some compensatory. Patterns of circuitry disruption identified through structural and functional MRI studies suggest a central role for degradation of frontocerebellar neuronal nodes and connecting circuitry affecting widespread brain regions and contributing to alcoholism's salient, enduring, and debilitating cognitive and motor deficits--executive dysfunction, visuospatial impairment, and ataxia.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0033-3158
1432-2072
DOI:10.1007/s00213-005-2267-6