effect of alcohol on the brain

What Is Alcohol?

As the National Institute on Drug Abuse explains, the active ingredient in beer, wine, and liquor is ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, which is known colloquially as alcohol. The chemical formula for ethanol is CH3CH2OH or C2H5OH. In terms of chemical accuracy, the proper name for alcohol is alkanol. There are different types of alcohol; the number carbon atoms present and the placement of the “OH bond in the formula determines the type of alcohol that will result.

ALCOHOL’S DAMAGING EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN
Difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reaction times, impaired memory: Clearly, alcohol affects the brain. Some of these impairments are detectable after only one or two drinks and quickly resolve when drinking stops.

Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that transmit the signals throughout the body that control thought processes, behavior and emotion. Neurotransmitters are either excitatory, meaning that they stimulate brain electrical activity, or inhibitory, meaning that they decrease brain electrical activity. Alcohol increases the effects of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA in the brain.

Memory Impairment

There are three forms of memory. We have the sensory memory, which lasts a few seconds, the short-term memory, which lasts a handful of minutes, and the long-term memory, also known as storage, which can last forever. Alcohol deteriorates each form of memory differently.

Warning signs that alcohol is affecting your mood include:
Poor sleep after drinking
Feeling tired because of a hangover
Low mood
Experiencing anxiety in situations where you would normally feel comfortable.

When you drink alcohol, you might notice effects such as difficulty walking, speaking, or thinking clearly. These short-term effects usually dissipate a few hours after your last drink. However, some long-term effects of alcohol can continue after you stop drinking, especially if you’ve been drinking in excess for an extended period of time.

Alcohol and brain injury

Brain injury can be caused by alcohol because it:
has a toxic effect on the central nervous system (CNS)
results in changes to metabolism, heart functioning and blood supply
interferes with the absorption of vitamin B1 (thiamine), which is an important brain nutrient
may be associated with poor nutrition
can lead to falls and accidents that injure the br