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Neuropsychological Effect of Chronic Alcoholism on Tactual‐Spatial Performance and Memory in Males
Author(s) -
Jenkins Robert L.,
Parsons Oscar A.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
alcoholism: clinical and experimental research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.267
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1530-0277
pISSN - 0145-6008
DOI - 10.1111/j.1530-0277.1981.tb04860.x
Subject(s) - neuropsychology , chronic alcoholic , neuropsychological test , audiology , psychology , right hemisphere , cambridge neuropsychological test automated battery , medicine , developmental psychology , cognition , spatial memory , psychiatry , working memory
To examine the hypothesis that the functioning of the right hemisphere is disrupted as a result of prolonged alcohol abuse, male middle‐aged alcoholic patients and nonalcoholic controls were tested on the standard‐Tactual Performance Test (TPT) from the Hatstead‐Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery or on a modified form of the TPT employing stimuli of low verbal codability. On the standard TPT, alcoholic patients were impaired relative to controls on timed performance and memory for TPT figures but not for location. Analysis of the pattern of timed performance indicated the presence of an alcohol‐related deficit for the left hand; however, right‐hand scores were not impaired in alcoholic patients. For the modified TPT, alcoholic patients were impaired relative to controls for level but not pattern of timed performance; memory for TPT figures was impaired in alcoholic patients although location scores were not. The standard and modified TPT were found to discriminate alcoholic and control subjects with equal accuracy. The results support the hypothesis that chronic alcoholism leads to a disruption in the normal functioning of the right cerebral hemisphere.