Study reveals the time taken by our brain to repair damage due to heavy drinking

A study reported in the international peer-reviewed journal Alcohol reveals that the brain of an individual recovering from alcohol use disorder (AUD) can undergo structural repair once alcohol consumption ceases for at least 7.3 months.

Individuals with alcohol use disorder commonly experience thinning in regions of their cortex, crucial for various higher-order cognitive functions. While prior studies have demonstrated the recovery of specific brain regions upon cessation of drinking, the extent and speed of this recovery were previously unknown.

The study involved 88 individuals with AUD who underwent brain scans at approximately one week, one month, and 7.3 months of abstinence. However, only 40 participants maintained abstinence for the entire period, as some individuals joined the study at the one-month mark, resulting in 23 individuals without scans taken at one week.

Researchers also examined 45 individuals without AUD, measuring their cortical thickness at baseline and about nine months later to establish baseline measurements.

The U.S.-based study discovered that those who quit drinking experienced an increase in cortical thickness, particularly during the initial month, and this progress continued until the 7.3-month mark, reaching thickness levels comparable to those without AUD.

The study, led by psychiatrist and behavioral scientist Timothy Durazzo from Stanford University, acknowledged certain limitations, such as the small sample size and lack of diversity, which may impact the generalizability of the results. No significant relationships were found between cortical thickness and current substance abuse, psychiatric disorders, or past cigarette smoking.

The authors noted the absence of variables like genetics, physical activity, and individuals’ liver and lung health, which might have influenced the study’s outcomes. In conclusion, the study provides “clinically relevant information on the beneficial effects of sustained sobriety on human brain morphology” and underscores the adaptive effects of abstinence-based recovery in AUD.