“…A CUTE ETHANOL NEUROTOXICITY causes reversible alterations in neurotransmission and second messenger signaling (Gordon et al, 1986;Steiner et al, 1997), whereas chronic ethanol neurotoxicity results in permanent loss of function due to structural injury (Bauer and Altman, 1977;Cragg and Phillips, 1985;Gordon et al, 1986;Harper, 1998). In the mature brain, chronic ethanol exposure causes cerebral atrophy, reduced white matter volume, ventricular enlargement, and cerebellar atrophy with loss of Purkinje and granule cell neurons (Bauer and Altman, 1977;Cragg and Phillips, 1985;de la Monte, 1988;Harper, 1998).…”