Alcoholism and Brain Damage: Some Psychometric Findings in Addiction Unit Alcoholics

Summary The use of psychometric tests as evidence of brain damage is discussed briefly and selected recent literature mentioned. Fifty‐seven addiction unit alcoholics were examined, using a vocabulary test and a test sensitive to cerebral dysfunction, and compared with a control group of fifty‐seven psychiatric patients with varying degrees of brain damage or dysfunction. It was concluded that very few of the addiction unit alcoholics were suffering from undoubted brain damage or dysfunction on psychometric evidence, and some implications of this findings are discussed.