Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 155, Issue 2 , Pages 91-102 , 15 July 2007

Improvement in memory and static balance with abstinence in alcoholic men and women: Selective relations with change in brain structure

  • Margaret J. Rosenbloom

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Rd., Stanford, CA 94305-5723, USA
    • Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, USA
  • ,
  • Torsten Rohlfing

      Affiliations

    • Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, USA
  • ,
  • Anne W. O'Reilly

      Affiliations

    • Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, USA
  • ,
  • Stephanie A. Sassoon

      Affiliations

    • Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, USA
  • ,
  • Adolf Pfefferbaum

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Rd., Stanford, CA 94305-5723, USA
    • Neuroscience Program, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA, USA
  • ,
  • Edith V. Sullivan

      Affiliations

    • Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Rd., Stanford, CA 94305-5723, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Tel.: +1 650 859 2880; fax: +1 650 859 2743.

Received 7 September 2006 ,Revised 21 December 2006 ,Accepted 26 December 2006.

References 

  1. Aylward EH, Reiss A. Area and volume measurement of posterior fossa structures in MRI. Journal of Psychiatric Research. 1991;25:159–168
  2. Bates ME, Bowden SC, Barry D. Neurocognitive impairment associated with alcohol use disorders: implications for treatment. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology. 2002;10:193–212
  3. Bates ME, Barry D, Labouvie EW, Fals-Stewart W, Voelbel G, Buckman JF. Risk factors and neuropsychological recovery in clients with alcohol use disorders who were exposed to different treatments. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 2004;72:1073–1080
  4. Bates ME, Voelbel GT, Buckman JF, Labouvie EW, Barry D. Short-term neuropsychological recovery in clients with substance use disorders. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research. 2005;29:367–377
  5. Brandt J, Butters N, Ryan C, Bayog R. Cognitive loss and recovery in long-term alcohol abusers. Archives of General Psychiatry. 1983;40:435–442
  6. Carlen PL, Wilkinson DA, Wortzman G, Holgate R. Partially reversible cerebral atrophy and functional improvement in recently abstinent alcoholics. Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences. 1984;11:441–446
  7. Corkin S, Amaral DG, Gonzalez RG, Johnson KA, Hyman BT. H M's medial temporal lobe lesion: Findings from magnetic resonance imaging. Journal of Neuroscience. 1997;17:3964–3979
  8. Crovitz HF, Zener KA. Group test for assessing hand and eye dominance. American Journal of Psychology. 1962;75:271–276
  9. Diener H-C, Dichgans J, Bacher M, Guschlbauer . Improvement in ataxia in alcoholic cerebellar atrophy through alcohol abstinence. Journal of Neurology. 1984;231:258–262
  10. Durazzo TC, Gazdzinski S, Rothlind JC, Banys P, Meyerhoff DJ. Brain metabolite concentrations and neurocognition during short-term recovery from alcohol dependence: preliminary evidence of the effects of concurrent chronic cigarette smoking. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research. 2006;30:539–551
  11. Fama R, Pfefferbaum A, Sullivan EV. Perceptual learning in detoxified alcoholic men: contributions from explicit memory, executive function, and age. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research. 2004;28:1657–1665
  12. Fein G, Landman B. Treated and treatment-naive alcoholics come from different populations. Alcohol. 2005;35:19–26
  13. Fein G, Bachman L, Fisher S, Davenport L. Cognitive impairments in abstinent alcoholics. Western Journal of Medicine. 1990;152:531–537
  14. Fein G, Torres J, Price LJ, Di Sclafani V. Cognitive performance in long-term abstinent alcoholic individuals. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 2006;30:1538–1544
  15. First MB, Spitzer RL, Gibbon M, Williams JBW. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders (SCID) Version 2.0.. New York, NY: Biometrics Research Department, New York State Psychiatric Institute; 1998;
  16. Fletcher PC, Shallice T, Dolan RJ. The functional roles of prefrontal cortex in episodic memory. I Encoding. Brain. 1998;121:1239–1248
  17. Folstein MF, Folstein SE, McHugh PR. Mini-mental state: a practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. Journal of Psychiatric Research. 1975;12:189–198
  18. Fregly AR, Graybiel A, Smith MS. Walk on floor eyes closed (WOFEC): a new addition to an ataxia test battery. Aerospace Medicine. 1972;43:395–399
  19. Gabrieli JDE. Cognitive neuroscience of human memory. Annual Review of Psychology. 1998;49:87–115
  20. Gazdzinski S, Durazzo TC, Meyerhoff DJ. Temporal dynamics and determinants of whole brain tissue volume changes during recovery from alcohol dependence. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. 2005;78:263–273
  21. Gilman S, Adams K, Koeppe RA, Berent S, Kluin KJ, Modell JG, et al. Cerebellar and frontal hypometabolism in alcoholic cerebellar degeneration studied with Positron Emission Tomography. Annals of Neurology. 1990;28:775–785
  22. Goldman MS. Recovery of cognitive function in alcoholics: the relationship to treatment. Alcohol Health and Research World. 1995;19:148–154
  23. Grant I, Adams KM, Reed R. Aging, abstinence and medical risk factors in the prediction of neuropsychologic deficit among long-term alcoholics. Archives of General Psychiatry. 1984;41:710–718
  24. Heatherton T, Kozlowski L, Frecker R, Fagerstrom K. The Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence: a revision of the Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire. British Journal of the Addictions. 1991;86:1119–1127
  25. Hochla NA, Fabian MS, Parsons OA. Brain-age quotients in recently detoxified alcoholic, recovered alcoholic and nonalcoholic women. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 1982;38:207–212
  26. Hollingshead A, Redlich F. Social Class and Mental Illness. New York: John Wiley and Sons; 1958;
  27. Incisa della Rocchetta A, Milner B. Strategic search and retrieval inhibition: the role of the frontal lobes. Neuropsychologia. 1993;31:503–524
  28. Joyce EM, Robbins TW. Memory deficits in Korsakoff and non-Korsakoff alcoholics following alcohol withdrawal and the relationship to length of abstinence. Alcohol and Alcoholism. 1993;Supplement 2:501–505
  29. Lishman WA. Alcohol and the brain. British Journal of Psychiatry. 1990;156:635–644
  30. Mann K, Gunther A, Stetter F, Ackermann K. Rapid recovery from cognitive deficits in abstinent alcoholics: a controlled test–retest study. Alcohol and Alcoholism. 1999;34:567–574
  31. Mattis S. Dementia Rating Scale (DRS) Professional Manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources Inc.; 1988;
  32. Meyerhoff DJ. Brain spectroscopic imaging, morphometry, and cognition in social drinkers and recovering alcoholics. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research. 2005;29:153–154
  33. Munro CA, Saxton J, Butters MA. The neuropsychological consequences of abstinence among older alcoholics: a cross-sectional study. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research. 2000;24:1510–1516
  34. Nelson HE. The National Adult Reading Test (NART). Windsor, Canada: Nelson Publishing Company; 1982;
  35. Nixon SJ. Application of theoretical models to the study of alcohol-induced brain damage. In:  Hunt W,  Nixon SJ editor. Alcohol Induced Brain Damage, NIAAA Monograph. Rockville, MD: National Institute of Health; 1993;p. 213–228
  36. Nixon SJ, Tivis RD, Jenkins MR, Parsons OA. Effects of cues on memory in alcoholics and controls. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research. 1998;22:1065–1069
  37. O'Neill J, Cardenas VA, Meyerhoff DJ. Effects of abstinence on the brain: quantitative magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging in chronic alcohol abuse. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research. 2001;25:1673–1682
  38. Oscar-Berman M, Marinkovic K. Alcoholism and the brain: an overview. Alcohol Research and Health. 2003;27:125–133
  39. Oscar-Berman M, Pulaski JL. Association learning and recognition memory in alcoholic Korsakoff patients. Neuropsychology. 1997;11:282–289
  40. Oscar-Berman M, Clancy JP, Weber DA. Discrepancies between IQ and memory scores in alcoholism and aging. The Clinical Neuropsychologist. 1993;7:281–296
  41. Oscar-Berman M, Kirkley SM, Gansler DA, Couture A. Comparisons of Korsakoff and non-Korsakoff alcoholics on neuropsychological tests of prefrontal brain functioning. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research. 2004;28:667–675
  42. Parsons OA. Do neuropsychological deficits predict alcoholics treatment course and recovery?. In:  Parsons OA,  Butters N,  Nathan PE editor. Neuropsychology of Alcoholism: Implications for Diagnosis and Treatment. New York: Guilford Press; 1987;p. 273–290
  43. Parsons OA. Neuropsychological consequences of alcohol abuse: many questions—some answers. In:  Parsons OA,  Butters N,  Nathan PE editor. Neuropsychology of Alcoholism. New York: Guilford Press; 1987;p. 153–175
  44. Parsons OA, Schaeffer KW, Glenn SW. Does neuropsychological test performance predict resumption of drinking in posttreatment alcoholics?. Addictive Behaviors. 1990;15:297–307
  45. Pfefferbaum A, Lim KO, Zipursky RB, Mathalon DH, Lane B, Ha CN, et al. Brain gray and white matter volume loss accelerates with aging in chronic alcoholics: A quantitative MRI study. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research. 1992;16:1078–1089
  46. Pfefferbaum A, Sullivan EV, Mathalon DH, Shear PK, Rosenbloom MJ, Lim KO. Longitudinal changes in magnetic resonance imaging brain volumes in abstinent and relapsed alcoholics. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research. 1995;19:1177–1191
  47. Pfefferbaum A, Adalsteinsson E, Sullivan EV. Dysmorphology and microstructural degradation of the corpus callosum: Interaction of age and alcoholism. Neurobiology of Aging. 2006;27:994–1009
  48. Pfefferbaum A, Adalsteinsson E, Sullivan EV. Supratentorial profile of white matter microstructural integrity in recovering alcoholic men and women. Biological Psychiatry. 2006;59:364–372
  49. Pfefferbaum A, Rosenbloom MJ, Rohlfing T, Adalsteinsson E, Kemper CA, Deresinski S, et al. Contribution of alcoholism to brain dysmorphology in HIV infection: Effects on the ventricles and corpus callosum. NeuroImage. 2006;33:239–251
  50. Reed RJ, Grant I, Rourke SB. Long-term abstinent alcoholics have normal memory. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research. 1992;16:677–683
  51. Riege WH. Specificity of memory deficits in alcoholism. Recent Developments in Alcoholism. 1987;5:81–109
  52. Rohlfing T, Sullivan EV, Pfefferbaum A. Deformation-based brain morphometry to track the course of alcoholism: Differences between intra-subject and inter-subject analysis. Psychiatry Research. NeuroImaging. 2006;146:157–170
  53. Ron MA, Acker RW, Shaw GK, Lishman WA. Computerized tomography of the brain in chronic alcoholism: a survey and follow-up study. Brain. 1982;105:497–514
  54. Rosenbloom MJ, Pfefferbaum A, Sullivan EV. Recovery of short-term memory and psychomotor speed but not postural stability with long-term sobriety in alcoholic women. Neuropsychology. 2004;18:589–597
  55. Rosenbloom MJ, O'Reilly A, Sassoon SA, Sullivan EV, Pfefferbaum A. Persistent cognitive deficits in community-treated alcoholic men and women volunteering for research: limited contribution from psychiatric comorbidity. Journal of Studies on Alcohol. 2005;66:254–265
  56. Rourke SB, Grant I. The interactive effects of age and length of abstinence on the recovery of neuropsychological functioning in chronic male alcoholics: a 2-year follow-up study. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. 1999;5:234–246
  57. Salmon DP, Butters N, Schuckit M. Memory for temporal order and frequency of occurrence in detoxified alcoholics. Alcohol. 1986;3:323–329
  58. Savage CR, Deckersbach T, Heckers S, Wagner AD, Schacter DL, Alpert NM, et al. Prefrontal regions supporting spontaneous and directed application of verbal learning strategies: evidence from PET. Brain. 2001;124:219–231
  59. Shear PK, Jernigan TL, Butters N. Volumetric magnetic resonance imaging quantification of longitudinal brain changes in abstinent alcoholics. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research. 1994;18:172–176
  60. Skinner HA. Development and Validation of a Lifetime Alcohol Consumption Assessment Procedure. Toronto, Canada: Addiction Research Foundation; 1982;
  61. Skinner HA, Sheu WJ. Reliability of alcohol use indices: the lifetime drinking history and the MAST. Journal of Studies on Alcohol. 1982;43:1157–1170
  62. Sullivan EV, Shear PK, Zipursky RB, Sagar HJ, Pfefferbaum A. Patterns of content, contextual, and working memory impairment in schizophrenia and nonamnesic alcoholism. Neuropsychology. 1997;11:195–206
  63. Sullivan EV, Deshmukh A, Desmond JE, Lim KO, Pfefferbaum A. Cerebellar volume decline in normal aging, alcoholism, and Korsakoff's syndrome: relation to ataxia. Neuropsychology. 2000;14:341–352
  64. Sullivan EV, Deshmukh A, Desmond JE, Mathalon DH, Rosenbloom MJ, Lim KO, et al. Contribution of alcohol abuse to cerebellar volume deficits in men with schizophrenia. Archives of General Psychiatry. 2000;57:894–902
  65. Sullivan EV, Rosenbloom MJ, Lim KO, Pfefferbaum A. Longitudinal changes in cognition, gait, and balance in abstinent and relapsed alcoholic men: relationships to changes in brain structure. Neuropsychology. 2000;14:178–188
  66. Sullivan EV, Rosenbloom MJ, Pfefferbaum A. Pattern of motor and cognitive deficits in detoxified alcoholic men. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research. 2000;24:611–621
  67. Sullivan EV, Fama R, Rosenbloom MJ, Pfefferbaum A. A profile of neuropsychological deficits in alcoholic women. Neuropsychology. 2002;16:74–83
  68. Sullivan EV, Rose J, Pfefferbaum A. Effect of vision, touch, and stance on cerebellar vermian-related sway and tremor: a quantitative MRI and physiological study. Cerebral Cortex. 2006;16:1077–1086
  69. Symonds LL, Archibald SL, Grant I, Zisook S, Jernigan TL. Does an increase in sulcal or ventricular fluid predict where brain tissue is lost?. Journal of Neuroimaging. 1999;9:201–209
  70. Tarter RE, Edwards KL. Multifactorial etiology of neuropsychological impairment in alcoholics. Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research. 1986;10:128–135
  71. Tarter, R.E., Ryan, C., 1983. Neuropsychology of alcoholism. Etiology, phenomenology, process, and outcome. In: Recent Developments in Alcoholism, Vol 1. pp. 449–469.
  72. Wechsler D. Wechsler Memory Scale—Revised. San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation; 1987;
  73. Wechsler D. The Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. New York: The Psychological Corporation; 1999;
  74. Zola-Morgan S, Squire L. The components of the medial temporal lobe memory system. In:  Squire LR,  Butters N editor. Neuropsychology of Memory. 2nd edition. New York: The Guilford Press; 1992;p. 325–335

PII: S0925-4927(07)00013-3

doi: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2006.12.019

Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 155, Issue 2 , Pages 91-102 , 15 July 2007