Is there cognitive impairment in clinically 'healthy' abstinent alcohol dependence?
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to determine neuropsychological performance in apparently cognitively, mentally, and physically healthy abstinent alcohol-dependent subjects compared with control subjects who were recruited for a number of different neuroimaging studies.


METHODS
All subjects completed a battery of neuropsychological tests as part of the neuroimaging protocol.


RESULTS
The group dependent on alcohol performed as well as controls on a non-verbal memory test and verbal fluency but performed worse in the verbal memory task, Trail A + B, and total IQ derived from Silverstein's short-form of the WAIS-R. However, the IQ performance of both groups was above average. In both groups, age was associated with slower performance on the Trail A + B task. In the alcohol-dependent group, severity of dependence and length of abstinence was not associated with performance of any task.


CONCLUSIONS
In this apparently clinically healthy population of abstinent alcohol-dependent subjects, frontal lobe dysfunction was detectable using the Trail A + B and digit symbol tasks. This was despite above-average WAIS-R IQ scores. Consideration needs to be given to routine incorporation of cognitive testing in alcohol dependence since subtle deficits may not be easily apparent and may impact on treatment outcome.
Davies
Simon J C
SJ
Psychopharmacology Unit, University of Bristol, Dorothy Hodgkin Building, Whitson Street, Bristol, BS1 3NY, UK.
Pandit
Smita A
SA
Feeney
Adrian
A
Stevenson
Brian J
BJ
Kerwin
Robert W
RW
Nutt
David J
DJ
Marshall
E Jane
EJ
Boddington
Stephen
S
Lingford-Hughes
Anne
A
D000328:Adult; D000425:Alcohol Amnestic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007360:Intelligence / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000187:drug effects*; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000187:drug effects; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009949:Orientation / Q000187:drug effects; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000187:drug effects; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects; D012016:Reference Values; D012153:Retention, Psychology / Q000187:drug effects; D013695:Temperance; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D014888:Wechsler Scales; D014936:Word Association Tests