Prior to neurophysiological assessments, alcoholic subjects were required to abstain from alcohol for a minimum of 3 weeks and not exhibit withdrawal symptoms. Subjects were excluded from neurophysiological assessment if they had any of the following: (1) recent substance or alcohol use (i.e., positive breath-analyzer test and/or urine screen), (2) hepatic encephalopathy/cirrhosis of the liver, (3) significant history of head injury, seizures or neurosurgery, (4) uncorrected sensory deficits, (5) taking medication known to influence brain functioning, (6) history/symptoms of psychoses, (7) positive test for human immunodeficiency virus, (8) other acute/chronic medical illnesses that affects brain function, and (9) a score of less than 25 on the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) (Folstein et al. 1975).
