An evolving aim of neuropsychology with respect to this multifactorial disease is the ability to identify alcoholics who are at particular risk of functional impairments in order to customize clinical treatment to increase the likelihood of sustained abstinence. Research focused on determinants or risk factors of cognitive deficits in alcoholics is even more urgent in light of the potential interactions and relations among vulnerability factors, alcohol consumption variables, and severity of cognitive and emotional impairment that have been elusive to or exclusive of quantitative, objective study. Prospective longitudinal studies, such as the NIH/NIAAA-supported National Consortium on Alcohol and NeuroDevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA) (Brown et al., 2015), the Collaborative Studies on the Genetics of Alcoholism (COGA) (Begleiter, 1995) that study adolescents before initiating appreciable drinking, and now ABCD which is a longitudinal prospective study starting in preadolescence, can be particularly valuable by providing information to address the question of whether cognitive deficits observed in AUD are the harmful consequences of excessive alcohol consumption or a premorbid risk factor for addiction.
