Neuroimaging in alcoholism: CT and MRI results and clinical correlates.

For more than a century we have known the deleterious effects of alcohol on the brain regions surrounding the third ventricle and on the cerebellum. But it was only recently that we gained clearer evidence that the cortex is affected as well. Our imaging studies show that brain shrinkage is at least partially reversible once abstinence is maintained. They confirm results obtained in different laboratories from all over the world. Although our data contradict the rehydration hypothesis and thus lend credence to the idea of regeneration and neuroplasticity, the nature of reversibility is still a matter of debate.