Alcohol and the Brain
Tom
finishes his business, zips up his
pants, and flushes the toilet. I told Matt
that I could make it to the restroom on
my own, he thinks smugly to himself. He
turns on the faucet to wash his hands
when, suddenly, it hits him: he doesn't
actually recall walking to the restroom.
Tom remembers assuring Matt that he
could take care of himself, and he
remembers standing from his seat in the
living room, but he simply cannot recall
the trip through the kitchen, down the
hall, and into the restroom. Laughing as
he admits to himself that Matt may have
been right after all, Tom cautiously heads
out to the party.
Lapses in consciousness or memory, known as blackouts, are a
symptom of heavy alcohol consumption.
Whether mild-as
in Tom's example-or
severe, blackouts are so
common a symptom of drinking that many people feel that they
are a tolerable consequence of inebriation, particularly in social
settings like parties. In fact, consumption of alcohol has several
detrimental effects on brain function that many people are
willing to tolerate for the substance's positive effects on the
reward centers of the brain. To be responsible drinkers, though,
we must understand what alcohol does to our brains, so that we
can make informed decisions about our actions after we've
consumed alcohol.
While it usually takes a fair amount of alcohol to affect short-term memory or cause blackouts, much smaller
amounts of alcohol can still impair us to a degree that makes it unsafe to engage in behaviors, like driving,
which are not particularly safe even with fully functional brains. Some of the detrimental effects that can get
us into life threatening trouble:
• Slow reaction times. When the difference between avoiding a rear-end collision with a braking vehicle
and a crash can depend on the milliseconds it takes for your foot to depress the brake after seeing the
hazard, any reduction in reaction times can be fatal.
• Drowsiness. Not only can this effect of alcohol consumption make you miss out on the life of the party, it
can result in serious harm or death for yourself and others should you fall asleep while operating any
sort of heavy machinery.
• Lowered inhibitions. In certain settings, usually social gatherings, this is actually a desired effect of
alcohol consumption, a means to overcome whatever awkwardness we may feel when thrust into a
function where mingling is expected. The danger is that alcohol lowers inhibitions indiscriminately, so a
reasonable voice of caution may be suppressed or ignored right along with whatever trepidation one
might feel about making small talk. This can lead us to take dangerous risks that we might not take while
sober.
It is worth remembering that these effects occur simultaneously, compounding the danger we place ourselves
and others in if we choose to behave irresponsibly while under the influence of alcohol.
Regular, heavy consumption of alcohol adds an additional stress to the acute symptoms discussed so far: a
change in brain chemistry that makes a person physically dependent on alcohol. This dependency can
become very powerful, difficult to counteract, and withdrawal symptoms can include seizures and even death.
Considering the other physiological effects of long-term alcohol abuse-effects
like liver disease-an
overpowering need to consume alcohol is no small problem.
Ultimately, we must each weigh the positive effects against the negative each time we choose to drink;
however, the important thing to remember is that there are negative side effects. With that in mind, you should
be equipped to make responsible decisions even as you enjoy the fun effects of drinking.
NATIONAL
TRAFFIC
SAFETY
INSTITUTE
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