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Recent Developments in Alcoholism pp 223–250Cite as

Alcohol Consumption and Premature Aging

A Critical Review

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Abstract

Research conducted during the past ten years has demonstrated that alcoholics resemble yet older nonalcoholics on a variety of behavioral, radiological, electrophysiological, and regional blood flow measures of brain function. These similarities have led to speculation that excessive alcohol consumption causes a premature aging of the brain that, in turn, is responsible for the characteristic structural and functional changes seen in detoxified alcoholics. In this chapter, we discuss some of the conceptual and methodological problems associated with what has become known as the premature-aging hypothesis and review a series of recent studies that have used neuropsychological, computerized-tomography, and evoked-potential techniques to test its validity. We conclude that there is very little compelling empirical support for this intriguing hypothesis and suggest that the neurobehavioral changes seen in alcoholics are merely the reflection of a diffusely distributed pattern of brain damage.

Keywords

  • Alcohol Consumption
  • Chronic Alcoholic
  • Premature Aging
  • Cerebral Atrophy
  • Excessive Alcohol Consumption

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 15213, USA

    Christopher Ryan

  2. Boston Veterans Administration Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts, 02130, USA

    Nelson Butters

Authors
  1. Christopher Ryan
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  2. Nelson Butters
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA

    Marc Galanter

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© 1984 Plenum Press, New York

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Ryan, C., Butters, N. (1984). Alcohol Consumption and Premature Aging. In: Galanter, M., et al. Recent Developments in Alcoholism. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4661-6_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-4661-6_13

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-4663-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-4661-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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