With respect to the PFC damage, recovery of cognitive function in this region is critical to the persistence of abstinence from alcoholism and avoidance of relapse in dependent individuals (97). A recent met-analysis of human literature (62 sources in all) demonstrated that cognitive impairments sensitive to the PFC in individuals with AUDs identified in recent abstainers (98–101) are primarily alleviated or “normalized” (meaning performance is comparable to non-dependent individuals) by 1-year abstinence of alcohol use (102). Similarly, improvements in executive functioning occurring as soon as 6 months into abstinence has been reported (95, 103). However, as proposed and reviewed by Oscar-Berman et al. (104), it is plausible that the recovery of PFC function is more the result of compensatory activity in associated regions of the cortex rather than distinct recovery or repair of the PFC itself.
