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Alcohol and Memory Loss |
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Excessive alcohol consumption can lead
to blackouts – periods of temporary memory loss or amnesia.
Blackouts are common among alcohol abusers and can be a warning sign
to drinkers and their friends that alcohol-related problems exist.
Blackouts are also considered an early high-risk indicator of
alcoholism. For problem and healthy drinkers alike, blackouts are
often troubling or traumatic when serious and typically unforgettable
occurrences are impossible to remember.
Alcohol has far reaching effects on
many areas of the brain. When you consume alcohol, the body
immediately begins to break it down. In the process, breakdown
products called ethyl esters speed the movement of positively charged
potassium ions from brain cells through the outer membranes, creating
a negative charge within the cell. This impairs calcium channels,
which brain cells rely upon to communicate with other cells
throughout the body. The brain also receives less oxygen when alcohol
is present. Alcohol also has a detrimental effect upon the central
nervous system. The cumulative effect of these changes is that the
activity of the hippocampus is disrupted. Moderate doses of alcohol
disrupt the acquisition and performance of spatial reference memory
tasks, and reduce the overall level of glutamate released at synapses
within the hippocampus.
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