Brain Regions Impaired by Alcoholism Identified By fMRI Studies in Young Adult, Female Alcoholics. While neuropsychological testing of which cognitive functions are impaired in long-term alcohol abuse had previously zeroed in on the right frontal and parietal regions, this study uses functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to demonstrate in real-time the malfunctioning of specific brain regions involved. Among other findings, the functional deficits persisted even in the three of the ten women scanned who had been abstinent from alcohol for at least six months. Women apepar to be as sensitive to the adverse effects of alcohol as men even with shorter exposure.