Alcoholism-related changes in emotion, cognition, and behavior have been linked to extensive regions of damage (Dao-Castellana et al 1998; Sullivan, Deshmukh, et al 2000; Kubota et al 2001; Moselhy et al 2001; Ravaglia et al 2002). In vivo MRI studies have shown similar extents of gray matter and subjacent white matter volume deficits (Jernigan et al 1991; Pfefferbaum et al 1992; Fein et al 2002). These patterns differ from neuropathological studies, which are more consistent in reporting white matter than gray matter volume abnormalities (Harper et al 1985, 1988; De la Monte 1988; Pfefferbaum et al 1992; Harper et al 1998). In vivo diffusion tensor imaging, a relatively new imaging modality that is useful for visualizing white matter bundles and microstructure (Basser and Pierpaoli 1996), also has revealed disruption of brain white matter microstructural integrity in alcoholic men (Pfefferbaum et al 2000) and women (Pfefferbaum and Sullivan 2002).
