Cognitive functioning of alcoholic females: an exploratory study.

The effects of long-term alcoholism on the cognitive functioning of female alcoholics was examined through direct comparisons to equivalent male alcoholics and to both male and female controls on a battery of neuropsychological tests. As expected male alcoholics demonstrated deficits in abstraction, memory and visuoperceptual functioning whereas female alcoholics demonstrated deficits in abstraction and visuoperceptual functioning only. Apparently alcoholic females have fewer cognitive deficits than equivalent alcoholic males. Specifically after 30 days of sobriety alcoholic females were no different than control males or females on tests of memory whereas male alcoholic males were impaired. This finding if replicated implies the possibility of less structural brain damage in female alcoholics than equivalent alcoholics.