Alcohol abuse can cause damage to the central nervous system and brain morphology. A study to be released in the January 2013 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research has found that the recovery of cerebral gray matter may begin in the first two weeks of recovery, but varies in the different areas of the brain. This study compared 49 alcohol-dependent patients with 55 nonalcohol-dependent individuals acting as a control group. Those who were alcohol dependent had brain scans done within the first 24 hours of detoxification and were again scanned two weeks later. Evidence was found for a rapid recovery in various parts of the brain.

Read the entire article here: Recovery of Brain Volumes with Abstinence May Vary for Different Brain Regions