Cognitive dysfunction and recovery in alcoholics.

In summary, neuropsychological deficits (impaired cognitive and perceptual motor functioning) exist in many alcoholics. These deficits, are related to treatment benefit and outcome. In our male alcoholic population, the deficits seem remarkably resistent to attenuation even after 13 months in about 50% of the retested alcoholics, namely, those who resume drinking. The question of such alcoholics having pre-morbid cognitive deficits is an important problem to resolve. Studies of recovery heretofore have been based on the implicit assumption that the cognitive deficits are alcohol induced. From our data there is good reason now to suspect that certain cognitive deficits preceded the alcoholism especially those alcoholics who have a history of childhood hyperkinesis/minimal brain-damage syndrome or who have a history of familial alcoholism.