Gender differences in brain function and structure in alcoholism

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston UniversityPLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you.Traditionally, alcoholism research focusing on the brain included only men. Recently, inclusion of women in brain-based alcoholism research has shown that gender differences in physiology and drinking habits contribute to unique profiles of cognitive, emotional, and neuropsychological dysfunction, as well as dimorphic patterns of structural brain damage and recovery. The present study employed functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of alcoholic men and women and demographically-similar control participants to explore how gender and alcoholism interact to influence: (1) interference by reward-salient distractor stimuli on working memory, (2) emotional processing and memory, and (3) drinking pattern associations with structural brain abnormalities. [TRUNCATED]2031-01-0