Date of Award


Document Type


Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)




The detrimental effects of alcohol consumption, including impulsivity, cognitive inflexibility, and neuropathology, are due to a confluence of factors that often occur in addition to alcoholism. We examined the effects of chronic alcohol exposure and thiamine deficiency (or supplementation) in isolation, as well as in concert, to further our understanding of the independent effects of each treatment and how they interact. Our results demonstrated that both chronic alcohol exposure and moderate thiamine deficiency induce an impulsive phenotype. Importantly, the increased impulsivity induced by thiamine deficiency was protracted as compared to that exhibited after chronic alcohol alone. Additionally, differential pathology was observed in chronic ethanol treated subjects presenting as potentially increased limbic volume. This study has furthered our understanding of the role of multiple factors in alcohol induced decision making deficits while illustrating the need to look at the interaction of chronic alcohol exposure induced mild thiamine deficiency.

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Psychology Commons