When investigating brain-behavior relationships in individuals with a history of alcoholism, it is imperative to keep in mind that, in addition to drinking patterns, many factors influence the expression and course of the disease, and can interact to aggravate alcoholism’s effects (Petrakis et al., 2002). Consequently, methodological differences with respect to exclusion and inclusion criteria contribute to disparate findings across studies. These differences include the following: family history of alcoholism (Cardenas et al., 2005); treatment history (Di Sclafani et al., 2008); age (Pfefferbaum et al., 2006; Schottenbauer et al., 2007; Westlye et al., 2010); gender (Fattore et al., 2008; Devaud and Prendergast, 2009; Nixon, 2013; Ruiz et al., 2013); the use or abuse of medicines, nicotine, or other drugs (Durazzo et al., 2006; Cosgrove et al., 2011); body mass index (Pfefferbaum et al., 2009; Gazdzinski et al., 2010a); and comorbid medical, neurological, and psychiatric conditions (Di Sclafani et al., 2007; Fama et al., 2009; Oscar-Berman et al., 2009; Charness, 2010; Sameti et al., 2011; Martin, 2013). Common comorbid medical complications are malnutrition, diseases of the liver and the cardiovascular system,
