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Alcohol acts as a general central nervous system depressant, but it also affects some specific areas of the brain to a greater extent than others. Memory impairment caused by alcohol has been linked to the disruption of hippocampal function—particularly affecting gamma-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) neurotransmission which negatively impacts long-term potentiation ...
Alcohol-related brain damage can have drastic effects on the individuals affected and their loved ones. The options for treatment are very limited compared to other disorders. Although limited, most patients with alcohol-related cognitive deficits experienced slight improvement of their symptoms over the first two to three months of treatment. [8]
Symptoms of varying BAC levels. Additional symptoms may occur. The short-term effects of alcohol consumption range from a decrease in anxiety and motor skills and euphoria at lower doses to intoxication (drunkenness), to stupor, unconsciousness, anterograde amnesia (memory "blackouts"), and central nervous system depression at higher doses.
In addition to problem drinking, the disease is characterized by symptoms including an impaired control over alcohol, compulsive thoughts about alcohol, and distorted thinking. [7] Alcoholism can also lead indirectly, through excess consumption, to physical dependence on alcohol, and diseases such as cirrhosis of the liver.
These studies have shown in particular, how the inebriated or intoxicated individual makes poorer associations between words and objects than does the sober individual. Later blackout-specific studies have indicated that alcohol specifically impairs the brain's ability to take short-term memories and experiences and transfer them to long-term ...
The long-term impact of alcohol on the brain has become a growing area of research focus. While researchers have found that moderate alcohol consumption in older adults is associated with better cognition and well-being than abstinence, [1] excessive alcohol consumption is associated with widespread and significant brain lesions.
Alcohol can lower inhibitions for a number of reasons, it can reduce one's self-awareness, impair perceptual and cognitive functioning, allows for instigator pressures to have more influence over an individual, and can reduce one's ability to read inhibitory social cues and standards of conduct.
High doses of alcohol rapidly consumed may produce amnesia for the events that occur during intoxication. Other effects include reduced coordination, which leads to slurred speech, impaired fine-motor skills, and delayed reaction time. The effects of alcohol on the body's neurochemistry are more difficult to examine than some other drugs.