Lia Steakley
New research provides further evidence that chronic alcohol consumption can harm certain memory systems, such as those used in making face-name associations.
In a study involving 10 alcoholics and 10 non-alcoholic control participants, Stanford researcher Edith Sullivan, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Florida focused on what they described as "a cognitive process essential in daily living." They determined that the alcoholics' associative memory - used in remembering face-name associations - was inferior to that of the control group. They also used structural MRI to show that the impaired learning abilities were predominantly associated with cerebellar brain volumes.
In a release, the researchers note that their work "helps to underscore the complexities of alcohol's effects on the brain." And they describe how impaired memory can affect a person's day-to-day functioning:
At work, alcoholics who have a job with a high cognitive load may have difficulties in learning new tasks. At home, memory disorders may be considered as disinterest in family life and may result in conflicts.
Continue Reading: scope.stanford.edu
New research provides further evidence that chronic alcohol consumption can harm certain memory systems, such as those used in making face-name associations.
In a study involving 10 alcoholics and 10 non-alcoholic control participants, Stanford researcher Edith Sullivan, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Florida focused on what they described as "a cognitive process essential in daily living." They determined that the alcoholics' associative memory - used in remembering face-name associations - was inferior to that of the control group. They also used structural MRI to show that the impaired learning abilities were predominantly associated with cerebellar brain volumes.
In a release, the researchers note that their work "helps to underscore the complexities of alcohol's effects on the brain." And they describe how impaired memory can affect a person's day-to-day functioning:
At work, alcoholics who have a job with a high cognitive load may have difficulties in learning new tasks. At home, memory disorders may be considered as disinterest in family life and may result in conflicts.
Continue Reading: scope.stanford.edu
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