Regional distribution of cerebral blood flow was assessed in 10 normal social drinkers following consumption of .75 g/kg alcohol and in a control session without alcohol. Alcohol increased blood flow in the gray matter in all brain areas except the left anterior area. The results are discussed in terms of the effect of alcohol on regional cerebral activation.
Previous studies found changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) patterns related to both age and various cognitive tasks. However, no study has yet demonstrated a relationship between rCBF and performance on the Luria-Nebraska Neuropsychological Battery (LNNB) in an elderly group. Seventy-nine elderly volunteers (56-88 years old), both healthy and demented, underwent the 133xenon inhalation rCBF procedure and were given the LNNB. The decrements in the gray-matter blood flow paralleled decrements in performance on the LNNB. Using partial correlations, a significant proportion of shared variance was observed between gray-matter blood flow and the LNNB scales. However, there was much less of a relationship between white-matter blood flow and performance on the LNNB. This study suggests that even within a restricted age sample rCBF is related in a global way to neuropsychological functioning.
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