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EEG abnormalities in chronic alcoholism related to age
Author(s) -
Jóhannesson G.,
Berglund M.,
Ingvar D. H.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1982.tb00834.x
Subject(s) - abnormality , electroencephalography , chronic alcoholic , chronic alcoholism , audiology , alcohol abuse , psychology , medicine , psychiatry , pediatrics
EEG was studied in SO chronic alcoholics (age 45 ± 10 years). All EEGs were classified visually. In addition, a manual analysis from a fronto‐central (F 3 ‐C 3 or F 4 ‐C 4 ) lead and a temporo‐occipital (T 5 ‐O 1 or T 6 ‐O 2 ) lead was done in 42 cases to obtain the mean frequency of the 6–12 Hz band. The visual classification correlated well with the frequency analysis in the anterior (rs = ‐0.57, P < 0.001) and in the posterior (rs = 0.61, P < 0.001) leads and there was a high positive correlation between the frontal and occipital lead (r = 0.88, P < 0.001). Half of the records were abnormal. There was a significantly higher proportion of abnormal EEGs in the youngest and oldest patient groups compared with the remainder. EEG‐abnormality was significantly related to early start of abuse (before 25 years, P < 0.05). The findings suggest that alcohol abuse in the teens or early twenties is accompanied by a considerably greater risk of brain damage than alcoholism beginning after 25. However, an alternative explanation, i.e. that the EEG abnormality may represent cerebral dysfunction predisposing to alcoholism is not excluded.