Topographic quantitative EEG amplitude in recovered alcoholics.

Topographic measures of electroencephalographic (EEG) amplitude were used to compare recovered alcoholics (n = 14) with sex- and age-matched control subjects. Delta, alpha, and beta activity did not distinguish the groups, but regional differences in theta distribution did. Recovered alcoholics showed more uniform distributions of theta amplitudes in bilateral anterior and posterior regions compared with controls. Because a minimum of 5 years had elapsed since the recovered alcoholic subjects fulfilled DSM-III-R criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence, it is unlikely these EEG theta differences reflect the effects of withdrawal.