Alcohol abuse is a major health problem in most parts of the world. This book focuses on the way in which alcohol affects the brain, with the aim of describing advances in the neuropsychology of alcoholism in a way that makes this work accessible to clinicians from a variety of backgrounds who treat people with alcohol-related problems.; The book is divided into four parts. Part One provides an introduction to the medical and neurological conditions that can result from alcoholism, and to the process of neuropsychological assessment. The problems involved in conducting research in this area are also considered. In Part Two, research that focuses directly on changes to the nervous system is surveyed. This includes studies of both the short-term and the chronic neurological changes in the brain caused by alcohol. In Part Three, studies of the neuropsychological effects of acute intoxication, social drinking and alcohol abuse are described. Finally, in Part Four, the implications of neuropsychological research for the assessment and management of patients with alcohol problems are considered.
The objective of this book is to collate the range of research work that is relevant to understanding how alcohol affects the brain. This includes both the acute and the chronic effects, at both the biological and physiological levels.