Neurocognitive Effects of Alcohol and Other Drugs

As understanding increases regarding the effects of alcohol and other drugs on the brain, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the use of most drugs is accompanied by short- and long-term changes in cognitive abilities such as attention, learning, memory, and problem solving. The term neurocognitive is often used to describe these abilities in order to reflect the link between biology and behavior—in this case the link between the brain and the complex cognitive abilities (behaviors) that it supports. New discoveries have demonstrated that the manner in which individual substances affect neurocognitive function is very complex. Not only does each substance have its own influence on brain function, with some having few demonstrable long-term effects and others having devastating effects; it is also apparent that ...