title: Eyeblink Classical Conditioning in Alcoholism and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders.
abstract: Alcoholism is a debilitating disorder that can take a significant toll on health and professional and personal relationships. Excessive alcohol consumption can have a serious impact on both drinkers and developing fetuses, leading to long-term learning impairments. Decades of research in laboratory animals and humans have demonstrated the value of eyeblink classical conditioning (EBC) as a well-characterized model system to study the neural mechanisms underlying associative learning. Behavioral EBC studies in adults with alcohol use disorders and in children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders report a clear learning deficit in these two patient populations, suggesting alcohol-related damage to the cerebellum and associated structures. Insight into the neural mechanisms underlying these learning impairments has largely stemmed from laboratory animal studies. In this mini-review, we present and discuss exemplary animal findings and data from patient and neuroimaging studies. An improved understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying learning deficits in EBC related to alcoholism and prenatal alcohol exposure has the potential to advance the diagnoses, treatment, and prevention of these and other pediatric and adult disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine , Baltimore, MD , USA.
authors.forename: Dominic T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit, MI , USA ; Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town , Cape Town , South Africa ; Department of Human Biology, University of Cape Town , Cape Town , South Africa.
authors.forename: Sandra W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine , Detroit, MI , USA ; Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town , Cape Town , South Africa ; Department of Human Biology, University of Cape Town , Cape Town , South Africa.
authors.forename: Joseph L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health, University of Cape Town , Cape Town , South Africa.
authors.forename: Christopher D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Molteno
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Delaware , Newark, DE , USA.
authors.forename: Mark E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Stanton
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine , Baltimore, MD , USA.
authors.forename: John E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Desmond
keywords: alcoholism; associative learning; cerebellum; ethanol; eyeblink classical conditioning; fetal alcohol spectrum disorders