title: Alcohol and the prefrontal cortex.
abstract: The prefrontal cortex occupies the anterior portion of the frontal lobes and is thought to be one of the most complex anatomical and functional structures of the mammalian brain. Its major role is to integrate and interpret inputs from cortical and sub-cortical structures and use this information to develop purposeful responses that reflect both present and future circumstances. This includes both action-oriented sequences involved in obtaining rewards and inhibition of behaviors that pose undue risk or harm to the individual. Given the central role in initiating and regulating these often complex cognitive and behavioral responses, it is no surprise that alcohol has profound effects on the function of the prefrontal cortex. In this chapter, we review the basic anatomy and physiology of the prefrontal cortex and discuss what is known about the actions of alcohol on the function of this brain region. This includes a review of both the human and animal literature including information on the electrophysiological and behavioral effects that follow acute and chronic exposure to alcohol. The chapter concludes with a discussion of unanswered questions and areas needing further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Abernathy
authors.forename: L Judson
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Chandler
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Woodward
mesh_terms: D000438:Alcohols / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D056344:Executive Function / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000187:drug effects; D009474:Neurons / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000378:metabolism; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000438:Alcohols; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents
references.citation: J Clin Invest. 2003 May;111(10):1444-51
references.pmid: 12750391
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2009 Dec;33(12):2134-40
references.pmid: 19764936
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2003 Nov;13(11):1219-31
references.pmid: 14576213
references.citation: Neuron. 2008 Mar 13;57(5):760-73
references.pmid: 18341995
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1997 May;21(3):521-9
references.pmid: 9161613
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 1999 Dec;82(6):2989-99
references.pmid: 10601434
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 1994 Oct;151(10):1505-8
references.pmid: 8092344
references.citation: Neuron. 2000 Mar;25(3):515-32
references.pmid: 10774721
references.citation: Life Sci. 2000 Apr 7;66(20):1915-27
references.pmid: 10821116
references.citation: Psychiatry Res. 1988 May;24(2):201-9
references.pmid: 3261427
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 1994 Feb;151(2):178-83
references.pmid: 8296885
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2008 Apr;18(4):951-8
references.pmid: 17693396
references.citation: Brain Lang. 2001 May;77(2):197-215
references.pmid: 11300704
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2008 Apr;32(4):690-8
references.pmid: 18341645
references.citation: Brain Res Bull. 1997;44(1):33-7
references.pmid: 9288829
references.citation: Exp Brain Res. 2007 Aug;181(3):409-25
references.pmid: 17443317
references.citation: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2007 May 29;362(1481):761-72
references.pmid: 17400538
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 2004 Mar;91(3):1171-82
references.pmid: 14602839
references.citation: Psychol Med. 1998 Sep;28(5):1039-48
references.pmid: 9794011
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2001 Jul;14(1 Pt 1):7-20
references.pmid: 11525339
references.citation: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2005 Feb;30(2):423-32
references.pmid: 15562292
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2001 Sep;25(9):1309-16
references.pmid: 11584150
references.citation: J Neurosci. 1995 Apr;15(4):2638-55
references.pmid: 7722619
references.citation: Handb Exp Pharmacol. 2005;(168):445-77
references.pmid: 16596784
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2004 Oct;14(10):1100-9
references.pmid: 15115744
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Jun 5;104(23):9870-5
references.pmid: 17535909
references.citation: Ann Neurol. 1989 Sep;26(3):395-7
references.pmid: 2529812
references.citation: Neuropsychologia. 2001;39(4):376-89
references.pmid: 11164876
references.citation: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2009 Jun;10(6):410-22
references.pmid: 19455173
references.citation: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2005 Oct;182(1):160-9
references.pmid: 16032411
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 2007 Sep;98(3):1428-39
references.pmid: 17615124
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2000 Mar;10(3):206-19
references.pmid: 10731217
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2001 Jun;25(6):924-34
references.pmid: 11410730
references.citation: J Comp Neurol. 1989 Aug 15;286(3):353-75
references.pmid: 2768563
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1990 Jun;14(3):482-9
references.pmid: 2198826
references.citation: Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2009 Mar;12(2):275-80
references.pmid: 19007447
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2007 Apr 25;27(17):4765-75
references.pmid: 17460089
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 2002 Dec 15;52(12):1121-33
references.pmid: 12488057
references.citation: Neurosci Res. 2004 Aug;49(4):379-85
references.pmid: 15236863
references.citation: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2004 Oct;5(10):793-807
references.pmid: 15378039
references.citation: Neurotox Res. 2008 Oct;14(2-3):249-62
references.pmid: 19073430
references.citation: Brain Res. 1996 Apr 15;716(1-2):157-64
references.pmid: 8738232
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2007 Jan;17(1):163-74
references.pmid: 16467564
references.citation: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2003 Apr;28(4):747-54
references.pmid: 12655321
references.citation: Drug Alcohol Depend. 2010 Jun 1;109(1-3):45-56
references.pmid: 20079980
references.citation: Nature. 1995 Aug 17;376(6541):572-5
references.pmid: 7637804
references.citation: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2005 Aug;181(1):188-96
references.pmid: 15778883
references.citation: Neuroscience. 1991;40(2):399-412
references.pmid: 1851255
references.citation: Psychiatry Res. 1990 Apr;35(1):39-48
references.pmid: 2164230
references.citation: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2009 Aug;10(8):561-72
references.pmid: 19571793
references.citation: Prog Neurobiol. 2004 Sep;74(1):1-58
references.pmid: 15381316
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 2007 Nov;98(5):2622-32
references.pmid: 17804579
references.citation: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1999 Oct;146(4):465-72
references.pmid: 10550497
references.citation: J Clin Exp Neuropsychol. 1997 Jun;19(3):378-85
references.pmid: 9268812
references.citation: Drug Alcohol Depend. 2009 Jan 1;99(1-3):354-8
references.pmid: 18922654
references.citation: Alcohol Alcohol. 2009 Mar-Apr;44(2):171-6
references.pmid: 19136498
references.citation: PLoS One. 2007 Sep 26;2(9):e930
references.pmid: 17895971
references.citation: J Stud Alcohol. 1993 May;54(3):369-76
references.pmid: 8487546
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2006 Jan 1;29(1):295-301
references.pmid: 16085426
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 2002 Dec;88(6):3150-66
references.pmid: 12466437
references.citation: Lancet. 1993 Nov 13;342(8881):1201-4
references.pmid: 7901529
references.citation: Pharmacol Ther. 2003 Sep;99(3):311-26
references.pmid: 12951163
references.citation: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2009 Jul;34(8):2028-40
references.pmid: 19242405
references.citation: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2008 Jan;33(1):42-55
references.pmid: 17912252
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1991 Jun;15(3):418-27
references.pmid: 1877728
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2003 Nov;13(11):1242-50
references.pmid: 14576215
references.citation: Psychiatry Res. 2008 Apr 15;162(3):205-13
references.pmid: 18280711
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2008 Oct;32(10):1849-58
references.pmid: 18657127
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 1986 Nov;56(5):1439-61
references.pmid: 3794777
references.citation: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2003 Jan;165(3):306-12
references.pmid: 12439627
references.citation: J Comp Neurol. 1996 Feb 05;365(2):289-305
references.pmid: 8822171
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 1999 Sep 1;46(5):650-61
references.pmid: 10472417
references.citation: Mol Pharmacol. 2006 Nov;70(5):1761-70
references.pmid: 16921022
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2000 Jun;24(6):822-9
references.pmid: 10888070
references.citation: Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2009 Apr;259(3):143-50
references.pmid: 19165528
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2003 Nov;13(11):1124-38
references.pmid: 14576205
references.citation: Neuroscience. 2008 Apr 22;153(1):259-67
references.pmid: 18358631
references.citation: Int J Psychophysiol. 2006 Mar;59(3):203-9
references.pmid: 16359745
references.citation: Brain Res Mol Brain Res. 2001 Oct 19;94(1-2):148-56
references.pmid: 11597775
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2005 Jan;15(1):49-57
references.pmid: 15217899
references.citation: Synapse. 1997 Sep;27(1):79-82
references.pmid: 9268067
references.citation: Neuropsychopharmacology. 2006 Mar;31(3):594-601
references.pmid: 15999146
references.citation: Alcohol. 2006 Jan;38(1):5-12
references.pmid: 16762687
references.citation: Neuropsychologia. 2004;42(11):1447-58
references.pmid: 15246283
references.citation: J Physiol. 2008 Sep 15;586(18):4465-79
references.pmid: 18653660
references.citation: J Neurosci. 1993 Aug;13(8):3252-65
references.pmid: 8340806
references.citation: PLoS One. 2007 Aug 08;2(8):e709
references.pmid: 17684555
references.citation: Alcohol. 2005 Feb;35(2):119-28
references.pmid: 15963425
references.citation: J Neurochem. 2002 May;81(4):802-13
references.pmid: 12065639
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 2002 Oct;159(10):1642-52
references.pmid: 12359667
references.citation: Nat Neurosci. 2005 Nov;8(11):1481-9
references.pmid: 16251991
references.citation: Hum Neurobiol. 1985;4(2):63-72
references.pmid: 4030425
references.citation: J Neurochem. 2005 Apr;93(2):359-70
references.pmid: 15816859
references.citation: Nat Neurosci. 2000 Oct;3(10):1027-34
references.pmid: 11017176
references.citation: Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 1995 Mar;20(3):288-304
references.pmid: 7550362
references.citation: Neurosci Res. 2006 Jun;55(2):105-15
references.pmid: 16542744
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2004 Nov 24;24(47):10652-9
references.pmid: 15564581
references.citation: Psychopharmacology (Berl). 1999 Oct;146(4):373-90
references.pmid: 10550488
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2007 Apr 1;35(2):928-39
references.pmid: 17303439
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 2003 Nov 30;146(1-2):3-17
references.pmid: 14643455
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2008 Jun;32(6):1001-13
references.pmid: 18422840
references.citation: Arch Neurol. 1988 Sep;45(9):990-2
references.pmid: 3415529
references.citation: Alcohol. 2002 Jun;27(2):135-41
references.pmid: 12106833
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2006 Nov;30(11):1845-55
references.pmid: 17067348
references.citation: Nat Rev Neurosci. 2008 Jul;9(7):557-68
references.pmid: 18568015
references.citation: Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2007 Dec;15(6):576-87
references.pmid: 18179311
references.citation: Prog Neurobiol. 2001 Feb;63(3):241-320
references.pmid: 11115727
references.citation: J Neurochem. 2009 Feb;108(4):920-31
references.pmid: 19077056
references.citation: J Physiol Paris. 2006 Jun;99(4-6):308-17
references.pmid: 16750617
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2006 Nov 28;103(48):18338-43
references.pmid: 17101972
references.citation: Brain Res. 2003 May 30;973(2):275-84
references.pmid: 12738071
references.citation: Mol Psychiatry. 2006 Jan;11(1):56-65
references.pmid: 16172612
references.citation: Am J Psychiatry. 2005 Aug;162(8):1403-13
references.pmid: 16055761
references.citation: PLoS One. 2009 Aug 05;4(8):e6507
references.pmid: 19654866
references.citation: J Biol Chem. 2008 Jun 20;283(25):17194-204
references.pmid: 18442977
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 2000 Jun;83(6):3287-93
references.pmid: 10848548
references.citation: Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 1993 Apr;17(2):205-10
references.pmid: 8488956
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2005 Mar 2;25(9):2255-66
references.pmid: 15745951