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Alcohol and adult neurogenesis: Roles in neurodegeneration and recovery in chronic alcoholism
Author(s) -
Nixon Kimberly
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
hippocampus
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.767
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 1098-1063
pISSN - 1050-9631
DOI - 10.1002/hipo.20162
Subject(s) - neurogenesis , neurodegeneration , neuroscience , neuropathology , abstinence , psychology , neuroplasticity , chronic alcoholism , psychiatry , dementia , alcohol abuse , disease , depression (economics) , medicine , pathology , economics , macroeconomics
The concept of “structural plasticity” has emerged as a potential mechanism in neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases such as drug abuse, depression, and dementia. Chronic alcoholism is a progressive neurodegenerative disease while the person continues to abuse alcohol, though clinical and imaging studies show that some recovery may occur with abstinence. The neural plasticity observed in chronic alcoholism coupled with conflicting reports on alcohol‐induced hippocampal neuropathology make this disease ripe for reconsideration in terms of the phenomenon of adult neurogenesis. This review describes opposing neurogenic processes that occur with alcohol intoxication and abstinence following alcohol dependence and how these opposing events relate to neurodegeneration and recovery from chronic alcoholism. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.