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Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain in Alcoholics: Cerebral Atrophy, Lifetime Alcohol Consumption, and Cognitive Deficits
Author(s) -
Chick J. D.,
Smith M. A.,
Engleman H. M.,
Kean D. M.,
Mander A. J.,
Douglas R. H. B.,
Best J. J. K.
Publication year - 1989
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.1530-0277.1989.tb00369.x
Subject(s) - atrophy , magnetic resonance imaging , white matter , cognition , psychology , audiology , brain damage , wisconsin card sorting test , neuroscience , cardiology , grey matter , brain size , medicine , radiology , neuropsychology
Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain in 69 detoxified alcoholics revealed that relaxation time ( T 1 ) in whole brain and in grey matter and parietal white matter was greater than in age‐matched controls. In 48 patients, data on cognitive function and lifetime alcohol consumption were available. With age‐controlled, lifetime consumption, and impairment on performance in the cognitive test (a Category Sorting Test) correlated positively with T 1 in whole brain and in selected regions. Impairment in the cognitive test correlated with increased T 1 in whole brain and white matter independently of cerebral atrophy. Alcohol consumption patterns in the following 6 months were unrelated to changes in T 1 . The excess water implied by the elevated T 1 values may be intra‐ or extracellular. It is uncertain whether or not T 1 elevation in alcoholics is a marker of neuronal damage. T 1 elevation appears to be a marker of one type of alcohol‐related cognitive impairment.