R indicates that long­term alcohol abuse1 can impair virtu­ ally all of the brain’s information­ processing (cogni­ tive) functions. Much of this research has been limited to the study of alcoholic men, perhaps, in part, because for many years, the primary locations for such research were Veterans’ Administration hospitals. This situation has changed in recent years. With increasing treatment a...

The existence of specific developmental disorders such as dyslexia and autism raises interesting issues about the structure of the normally developing mind. In these disorders distinct cognitive deficits can explain a range of behavioural impairments and have the potential to be linked to specific brain abnormalities. One possibility is that there are specific mechanisms dedicated to particular...