Conversely, other investigators (Cermak et al. 1974) have demonstrated that the pattern of performance that alcoholics demonstrate on memory tests is similar to that of normal control subjects, and their performance, in turn, is qualitatively different from those alcoholics with Korsakoff’s syndrome. More recently, Delin and Lee (1992) reviewed evidence indicating that social drinkers, who are presumed to occupy a place on the continuum between that of abstainers and alcoholics, do not show the deleterious effects of alcohol on mental functioning. Thus, the evidence in this review regarding cognitive changes does not support the continuum hypothesis.
