Alcoholism has heterogeneous origins and manifestations, depending upon variables such as family history, age, gender, and mental or physical health. Consequently, the neuropsychological profiles associated with alcoholism are not uniform among individuals. Within and across research studies, variability among participants is substantial and contributes to the characteristics associated with differential outcomes. Nevertheless, evidence for impairments of neuropsychological processes following years of chronic alcoholism is unequivocal. These impairments are accompanied by structural damage to gray and white matter in the brains of alcoholics, and are measurable on both macrostructural and microstructural levels. The profiles of impairments among alcoholics show that some neuropsychological processes are more permanently disrupted than others. Memory, executive functions, emotion and psychosocial skills, visuospatial cognition, and psychomotor abilities are particularly affected. In accordance with this pattern of deficits, the brain networks that underlie the most impaired functions involve the frontocerebellar system and mesocorticolimbic circuitry.
