Unveiling Electroencephalographic Changes in Frontal Brain Activity among Alcohol-Dependent Individuals

Introduction: Alcoholism is a significant social and health problem, and its impact brain function, serving as a crucial risk factor for numerous health problems. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to observe the changes in forebrain activity among alcoholics. Method: A case-control analytic observational study comprised 30 alcoholics (AUDIT score > 7) and 30 age-matched healthy control (non-alcoholic) male subjects, aged 25 to 50 years. Alcoholic subjects were categorized into hazardous (21 subjects), harmful (9 subjects), and high-risk alcoholic groups based on AUDIT scores. Electroencephalogram recordings of absolute power in delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma were recorded in the frontal lobe (FP1, FP2, F3, F4, F7, F8, and FZ) during the eye-open and eye-closed states. Data were analyzed via the unpaired sample “t” test and one-way ANOVA test. Statistical significance was set at P <0.5 considered significant.Results: In alcoholic subjects, heightened absolute power in high-frequency waves (alpha, beta, and gamma) across all channels, with significant increases in FP2 and F8 during the eye-open resting state, indicates distinct neurophysiological changes. Low-frequency waves (delta, theta) were notably altered, particularly in F4, during both eye states, providing evidence of an inhibitory state of the frontal area of the brain in alcoholic subjects. The harmful alcohol subgroup demonstrated a significant increase in the beta wave absolute power at FP2. Conclusions: The study revealed that alcoholic subjects exhibited significantly elevated absolute power in high-frequency waves (alpha, beta, gamma) in FP2 and F8, and altered low-frequency waves (delta, theta), particularly in F4, suggesting asymmetrical EEG patterns in alcoholics.