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Brain Dysfunction in Social Drinkers
Author(s) -
Fox Geoffrey A.,
Jackson Martin,
Waugh Mara,
Tuck Roger R.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
australian drug and alcohol review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.018
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1465-3362
pISSN - 0819-5331
DOI - 10.1080/09595238780000041
Subject(s) - psychology , audiology , alcohol consumption , cognition , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , alcohol , psychiatry , medicine , biochemistry , chemistry
Abstract: Thirty‐four social drinkers who had referred themselves to the Regional Brain Damage Unit for assessment of the effects of drinking alcohol were compared with 42 volunteer control subjects of equivalent age but with low alcohol intake, using two ‘learning’ tests ‐ the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) and the Austin Button Maze. The Maze Test gave no evidence of disorder, but the two groups were significantly different on the RAVLT. No abnormalities in standard cognitive tests were apparent. These results suggest that a deficit in learning ability may be an early feature of the brain dysfunction associated with excessive alcohol consumption.