Abstract

Epidemiological studies have observed that older adults who consume light to moderate amounts of alcohol have higher cognitive functioning and are less likely to develop different types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, compared to older adults who do not consume alcohol. Similar findings have been reported by studies that have examined midlife alcohol consumption and cognitive functioning during old age. The apparent benefits of consuming light to moderate amounts of alcohol have been attributed to increased cell proliferation in specific regions of the brain, antioxidative properties of alcohol, and reduced risk for health conditions associated with accelerated cognitive decline and dementia. However, there is a debate regarding whether alcohol plays a causal role in preserving cognitive functioning during old age and older adults who abstain from alcohol should not be advised to start consuming alcohol. The objective of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive summary of the evidence from animal and human studies that have examined the effect that alcohol consumption has on the brain and cognitive functioning. This chapter also reviews the evidence for a causal relationship between alcohol and cognition as well as alternative explanations for the observed findings from epidemiological studies. Finally, we conclude by providing future research directions that can be pursued to clarify the relationship between alcohol consumption and cognitive functioning during old age.