Alcoholism and Evaluation of Executive Functions: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Alcoholism can cause a range of cognitive impairments, especially deficits in learning and memory, visual-spatial ability, perceptual-motor skills, abstraction and problem solving. This study sought to conduct a systematic review of articles published in scientific journals between the years 2003 and 2008 on the neuropsychological consequences associated with alcoholism in adults, especially executive function, evaluated with Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). The results suggest that alcoholics have lower performance compared to control subjects not dependents on cognitive functions like reasoning, visual perception ability, early learning, attention, concentration and memory. In addition, the WCST was sensitive, confirming the findings in neuroimaging studies, which detect changes in the frontal lobe of alcoholics. The importance of neuropsychological assessment of alcoholics, should be noted, since the various damage caused by alcohol use, especially in executive functions, which implies the ability to solve problems and make decisions.