Although upper limb strength usually remains intact, alcoholics often tend to demonstrate deficits in lower limb competencies, such as posture, gait, and balance (Sullivan et al., 2000b). A number of studies have tested alcoholic and control participants on the Walk-a-Line Ataxia Battery (Sullivan et al., 2000b; Pfefferbaum et al., 2006; Smith and Fein, 2011; Fein and Greenstein, 2013), which consists of three parts, each to be performed with eyes open and then closed. First, participants stand with feet placed heel-to-toe and arms folded across the chest; next, participants stand on one foot; finally, participants walk heel-to-toe. Each of these studies showed impairments in alcoholics; the deficits were persistent and slow to improve (Fein and Greenstein, 2013). Finally, lifetime alcohol consumption, disease duration, and age have been negatively associated with scores on the International Cooperative Ataxia Rating Scale, representing not only poor posture and gait, but also kinetic, speech, and oculomotor abilities (Fitzpatrick et al., 2012).
