Anterior brain dysfunctioning as a risk factor in alcoholic behaviors

This study assessed the relationship between neuropsychological and electrophysiological functioning and four alcohol-related measures: the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST), the age at which the first drink was taken, frequency of drinking to "get high", and frequency of drinking to "get drunk". Ninety-one young adult men with no history of alcohol dependence were recruited. Subjects completed a variety of alcohol-related scales and a battery of neuropsychological tests. Resting EEG activity was also recorded. Stepwise regression analysis found that neuropsychological tests commonly regarded as measuring frontal and/or temporal neocortex functioning predicted the age at which subjects took their first drink and their scores on the MAST. Tests of frontal functioning, along with tests of memory, also predicted the frequency with which subjects reported drinking to "get drunk". Tests of memory also predicted the frequency at which subjects drank to "get high". On two of the alcohol measures, including age at which the first drink was taken and frequency of drinking to "get high", left-frontal slow alpha EEG activity was a significant predictor. These results suggest that markers of anterior brain functioning/dysfunctioning are associated with self-reports of alcohol-related behaviors, and that disturbances in the integrity of the anterior neocortex may be a risk factor in the development of alcohol-related behaviors.