Why some people just can’t seem to pay attention.

Chronic alcoholism has long been associated with neuropsychological deficits.

These deficits include an inability to maintain attention.

A recent study examined the cerebral basis of involuntary attention shifting in alcoholics and social drinkers.

Alcoholics seem to be more sensitive to task-irrelevant stimuli.

Alcoholics that begin to drink heavily in their teens seem to be particularly susceptible. Eurekalert