These Are The 9 Effects That Alcohol Has On The Brain In The Short And Long Term
Due to its large number of functions and its sensitivity to changes, the brain is one of the body organs most affected by alcohol consumption. This consumption is capable of altering any brain function, including reasoning, emotions and judgment.
Although each person tolerates this substance in different ways There are a series of effects of alcohol on the brain that all people experience to a greater or lesser extent What these effects are and their severity will be explained below.
It is more than known that alcohol consumption, both occasional and recurring, can cause numerous effects on the brain. When this consumption is excessive, due to alcoholism problems, it can cause irreversible damage to the brain.
However, although there are common patterns, the consequences derived from alcohol consumption are not the same for all people; There are considerable differences depending on age, sex or weight. In any case, the consequences of abusing this type of drink are always visible in the way the nervous system works: there are no populations that are safe from the deterioration caused by consuming this drug.
Listed below are a number of factors that determine both how and the degree to which alcohol affects the brain:
Alcohol has the ability to begin to generate effects on the body, no matter how slight, from the first drink. This means, among other things, that There is no such thing as moderate alcohol consumption in the sense that it means “safe consumption.” All these short-term effects intensify and persist over time as consumption becomes more and more frequent, but the wear and tear on the body is present from the first time it is ingested.
The first effects that a person who has consumed alcohol in any dose may experience include motor disturbances, difficulties walking, slow reaction times or slurred speech.
Likewise, there are a series of more serious consequences that appear between the first moments of alcohol consumption and hours or even days after ingestion. These effects are the following.
1. Emotional changes
Alcohol consumption leads to a series of imbalances in brain chemistry that They affect behavior, thoughts, feelings and emotions These disturbances in brain chemistry favor the appearance of emotional changes such as anxiety, depression or aggression.
Although traditionally, people have used alcohol as a means to lose inhibitions, to feel relaxed or even to be more sociable and extroverted; Excessive alcohol intake tends to transform these emotions into anxiety, aggression and sadness or depression in the short term.
2. Memory lapses
Alcohol intake can cause small damage to the hippocampus. This deterioration manifests itself through memory lapses, which may occur only a few hours after consuming small amounts of alcohol
However, when it is ingested in large quantities, on an empty stomach and in short periods of time, the person may experience forgetting longer intervals of time or even complete events.
3. Loss of consciousness
Syncope or loss of consciousness for short periods of time is common in people who drink large amounts of alcohol very quickly. This rapidity in intake causes blood alcohol levels to increase dramatically, causing fainting and loss of knowledge.
4. Impulsivity
Consume alcohol in both small and large doses, can interfere with connections in the brain’s prefrontal cortex This area is responsible for mediating the person’s impulsivity, as well as the organization of their behavior.
When blood alcohol levels begin to increase, the person is susceptible to experiencing impulsive behaviors that they would surely never have carried out under conditions of sobriety.
However, like changes in aggressiveness, These alterations also depend on the predisposition or character of the person That is, a person who tends to be aggressive or impulsive in normal situations will be much more susceptible to these effects, or will experience them with greater intensity, than a person who tends to be calm.
Long-term effects
As mentioned above, any of the long-term effects of alcohol can be maintained over time when consumption goes from punctual to recurring. Some of these long-term effects are as follows.
1. Development of emotional disorders
Excessive alcohol consumption is closely related to certain diseases and emotional disorders such as depression or anxiety.
This is because drinking alcoholic beverages regularly alters brain serotonin levels, specifically it tends to reduce them. The decrease in the levels of this neurotransmitter responsible for regulating mood favors the appearance of all types of emotional disorders in the person.
2. Limits brain development in adolescents
Consumption at an early age is becoming more and more common, especially during adolescence. This consumption, which is carried out socially, can end up interfering with the correct brain development of young people.
As a consequence of these variations, adolescents can develop transcendental deficits in the recovery of verbal and non-verbal information and in visuospatial functioning.
Likewise, given that during this stage the brain is not fully developed, adolescent alcohol consumers are much more exposed to developing learning and memory difficulties.
3. Destruction of neurons
In addition to slowing brain development during adolescence, alcohol consumption also affects neuronal development in adulthood.
During this stage, the consumption of high doses of alcohol prevents the growth of new cells and reduces the number of neurons in the brain in certain areas of the brain. However, these damages are more visible in specific areas of these nerve cells: axons, extensions that form the wiring of the nervous system
As described above, the destruction of neurons can cause serious deterioration in the hippocampus. This brain region is responsible for intervening in memory storage, so a series of frequent drunkenness or alcohol addiction can permanently damage the brain, altering the ability to memorize.
This deficit in memory storage can persist even once alcohol addiction has been overcome.
Related article: “Hippocampus: functions and structure of the memory organ”
5. Psychosis
An extreme addiction to alcohol can generate a state or disorder of psychosis in people, which experiences all kinds of hallucinations, paranoia and illusions
Likewise, if a person with a long history of alcoholism abruptly stops drinking alcohol, they may develop alcohol withdrawal syndrome, also known as “delirium tremens.”
This syndrome causes hyperstimulation of the adrenergic system, causing headaches, constant agitation, body tremors, nausea and vomiting hallucinations and even death.
6. Wernike-Korsakoff syndrome
Alcohol addiction causes, in 80% of cases, a deficiency of vitamin B1 or thiamine This decrease in thiamine levels is a risk factor for developing Wernike-Korsakoff syndrome.
This condition is distinguished because the person simultaneously presents Wernike encephalopathy and the well-known Korsakoff syndrome. Both diseases have their origin in the lack of this vitamin.
Álvarez, MJS, & Vera, DGZ (2008). Thiamine deficiency: Beriberi and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Medicine Magazine, 13(2): pp. 137 – 139.
Ewing, J. A. (October 1984). “Detecting alcoholism. The CAGE questionnaire.” JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association. 252 (14): pp. 1905 – 1907.
Romeo, J.; Wärnberg, J.; Nova, E.; Díaz, LE; Gómez-Martinez, S.; Marcos, A. (2007). Moderate alcohol consumption and the immune system: a review. The British Journal of Nutrition. 98 Suppl 1: S111 – 115.
