Alcohol’s effects on brain white matter are a particular area of interest given the advent of diffusion imaging techniques (6-8). It has been suggested that white matter microstructure may be particularly vulnerable to toxic effects of alcohol and that disruptions may be among the first signs of cerebral damage. Both early and later chronic exposure to alcohol are associated with white matter disruptions in multiple regions of the corpus callosum (1,9-12). A recent study of detoxified alcohol-dependent males found evidence of decreased white matter integrity (lower fractional anisotropy) in the body of the corpus callosum as well as other regions including the left anterior corona radiata, the left internal capsule, the left superior frontal gyrus, and multiple regions of the right hemisphere including the cerebellum, insula and pallidum (13).
