Alcohol’s Damaging Effects on the Brain

Alcohol’s effect on the brain is easily perceptible in someone who’s had just a few drinks: slurred speech, slow reaction times, and poor memory are just a few signals. Often, these effects are reversed once alcohol is out of the system. But someone who drinks heavily over a long period of time can experience permanent, even debilitating, brain damage.

Though it is not a permanent condition, a blackout can occur in someone who drinks a large quantity of alcohol in a short amount of time. A blackout, as defined by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, is “an interval of time for which the intoxicated person cannot recall key details of events, or even entire events.” College students are considered to be especially at risk because binge drinking is so prevalent on college campuses. Women are more susceptible to blackouts because their bodies process alcohol differently.

One of the most serious and permanent effects of chronic drinking is Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which is actually two co-existing conditions. It’s caused by a lack of thiamine, or vitamin B1. Thiamine deficiency is common in alcoholics because of their poor overall nutrition. The first of the two conditions, Wernicke’s encephalopathy, is characterized by confusion and difficulty with muscle coordination, among other things. The nerves that control eye movement may also become paralyzed. A person with this condition may have troubled with something as simple as walking.

The other condition is called Korsakoff’s psychosis, which is indicated by significant learning and memory problems. Mobility and coordination are also problems associated with Korsakoff’s. A person with this condition has trouble retaining new information. He may be able to tell you about something that happened several years ago, but in an hour or two, he won’t remember that he told you about it. This can make employment difficult because the person is likely to forget changes in policies or responsibilities.

Though the damage caused by excessive or chronic alcohol abuse may never go away completely, studies have shown that there is typically some improvement within a year after alcohol consumption stops.