Abstract
Numerous cognitive deficits characterize individuals who have a history of chronic alcohol abuse. Impairments in memory, abstracting ability, motor efficiency, visuospatial integration, and learning capacity are reported frequently in such individuals.1–3 Within the population of “social” drinkers, neuropsychologic capacity correlates negatively with alcohol consumption variables,4,5 suggesting that the threshold for neurologic disruption may be lower than is commonly realized. These findings, coupled with the fact that society is becoming progressively more complex and hence requires increasingly more sophisticated functions to be performed by its constitutents, indicates that the excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages not only has an adverse influence on the individual’s potential for adjustment, but also hinders the general welfare and progress of society.
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Tarter, R.E., Edwards, K.L. (1985). Neuropsychology of Alcoholism. In: Tarter, R.E., van Thiel, D.H. (eds) Alcohol and the Brain. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-9134-1_8
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