Since the 1980s, conventional structural MRI has allowed researchers to visualize the living human brain. Visualization of brain structure is possible because each brain tissue-type (i.e., grey matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)) contains different quantities of water (Rumboldt, 2010). Structural MRI allows visualization of the brain on several axes: from bottom to top (axial), from front to back (coronal), and from left to right (sagittal). The 3 dimensional nature of acquired images provides greater accuracy in aligning images with internal landmarks and consequently greater consistency between data from replicate images (Rohlfing, 2006). Structural MRI is currently the most effective tool in identifying and diagnosing neurological disorders caused by long-term alcohol consumption (Antunez et al., 1998; Chung, Kim, Yoo, Lim, & Lee, 2003).
