ABSTRACT
Excessive alcohol use causes changes to the structure and functioning of the brain, some permanent and some reversible with abstinence (Harper, 2009 ). Particularly sensitive to change are the frontal lobes, limbic system and cerebellum (Oscar-Berman and Marinkovic, 2007 ; Sullivan, 2003 ). This leads to well-documented neuropsychological changes in those drinking alcohol to excess, in particular the memory impairment (Bates, Bowden and Barry, 2002 ; Pitel et al ., 2011 ; Kopelman, 2009 ; Sullivan, 2003 ) and executive dysfunction commonly associated with Korsakoff’s Syndrome (KS), the chronic stage of Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome (WKS). However, a wide range of cognitive presentations may be seen at different stages of development of alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD), outlined in greater detail elsewhere in this volume (Scalzo, Bowden and Hillbom, 2015 ; Wilson, 2015 ).
