Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6 2024 observed in our previous investigation [11]. This was not the case in this small sample. Although largely exploratory given the small sample size, these findings indicate that cerebellar and medial temporal function as assessed by neuropsychological tests are related to discrimination reversal learning, particularly in a trace paradigm. In conclusion, the current study examined simple discrimination and reversal learning in the context of both delay and trace learning paradigms. As task difficulty increased from the delay to trace paradigm and a silent trace interval was introduced, abstinent alcoholics were unable demonstrate any differential learning. These findings indicate that alcoholics’ ability to learn and acquire new associations becomes more pronounced when there is a temporal gap between relevant information/stimuli. Alcoholic addiction may result from the over-learning of pathological, persistent associative memories or associative learned responses that interfere with the ability to learn new, more adaptive associations. This interference in new learning is more pronounced when there are gaps in time between the presentation of new information and previously learned information. As a result, alcoholic individuals are prone to relapse based on their patterns of learning. Gaps of time between new, adaptive learning and old, pathological learning likely exacerbate relapse to previous behavioral patterns. Acknowledgements References This research was supported by NIH NIAAA 14205 and VA Merit Review Awards to Catherine Brawn Fortier and Regina McGlinchey. We also appreciate the advice of Dr. Marlene Oscar-Berman in defining the inclusionary criteria for alcoholics in this study. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Thompson, R.F. The neurobiology of learning and memory. Science 1986, 233, 941-947. Harper, C.; Kril, J.J. Patterns of neuronal loss in the cerebral cortex in chronic alcoholic patients. J. Neurol. Sci. 1989, 92, 81-89. Sullivan, E.V.; Roesenbloom, M.J.; Lim, K.O.; Pfefferbaum, A. Longitudinal changes in cognition, gait, and balance in abstinent and relapsed alcoholic men: Relationships to changes in brain structure. Neuropsychology 2000, 14, 178-188. Sullivan, E.V.; Harding, A.J.; Pentney, R.J.; Dlugos, C.A.; Martin, P.R.; Parks, M.H.; Desmond, J.E.; Anabel Chen, S.H.; Pryor, M.R.; de Rosa, E.; Pfefferbaum, A. Disruption of frontocerebellar circuitry and function in alcoholism. Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. 2003, 27, 301-309. Sullivan, E.V.; Sable, H.J.; Strother, W.N.; Friedman, D.P.; Davenport, A.; Tillman-Smith, H.; Kraft, R.A.; Wyatt, C.; Szeliga, K.T.; Buchheimer, N.C.; Daunais, J.B.; Adalsteinsson, E.; Pfefferbaum, A.; Grant, K.A. Neuroimaging of rodent and primate models of alcoholism: initial reports from the integrative neuroscience initiative on alcoholism. Alcohol. Clin. Exp. Res. 2005, 29, 287-294.