BOSTON, Aug 17, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- U.S. researchers say alcoholics
display abnormal brain activity when processing facial expressions.
The Boston University Medical Center researchers -- using magnetic resonance
imaging -- found chronic alcoholism linked to physiological brain changes in
emotional functioning.
The study, published in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, found
people with a long history of alcoholism who have been abstinent for at least a
month if not much longer, showed decreased and abnormal brain activity, compared
to non-alcoholics, when looking at facial expressions -- in particular in the
amygdala and hippocampus areas of the brain.
"Since 'reading facial expressions' is an important part of social interaction,
alcoholics as well as other previously addicted groups, may be suffering from
brain abnormalities in parts of the brain that control emotional perception and
memory," study author Marlene Oscar Berman says in a statement.
URL: www.upi.com
Copyright 2009 by United Press International