Monitoring the Brain’s Response to Alcohol With Positron Emission Tomography

Researchers have used positron emission tomography (PET) to study the interrelationships of structural, metabolic, and functional brain changes following alcohol consumption as well as during withdrawal and abstinence. This technique is based on the fact that blood flow and energy metabolism tend to increase in parts of the brain undergoing increased activity and to decrease in brain tissue that is diseased or damaged. PET detects such changes by tracking the distribution within the brain of radioactive chemicals that have been injected into the blood. Because of its sensitivity, PET can detect early functional deficits in the brain before structural changes are apparent. PET has documented gradual recovery of cognitive functions with continued abstinence. In addition, PET data has been used to investigate possible mechanisms for some of alcohol 3s effects and to provide additional evidence for the heritability of alcoholism.