Some alcohol-related cognitive deficits, in particular memory and learning problems, have been quantitatively associated with poor nutrition (Albert, Butters, Rogers, Pressman, & Geller, 1982; Guthrie & Elliott, 1980). Indeed, thiamine deficiency is estimated in upwards of 80% of alcoholics (Galvin et al., 2010; Thomson, 2000) and can result in Wernicke’s encephalopathy (WE), an acute neurological condition, characterized by a clinical triad of symptoms: oculomotor disturbances, gait and balance instability, and altered mental state (Victor, Adams, & Collins, 1989). If left untreated or undertreated, WE can progress to Korsakoff’s syndrome (KS), with its hallmark symptom of profound anterograde amnesia (Kopelman, 1995; Victor et al., 1989).
