These are the 9 effects that alcohol has on the brain in the short and long term.

The fact that alcoholic beverages enjoy social acceptance does not imply that they do not harm us.

Due to the 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 differently, there are a number of effects of alcohol on the brain. there are a number of effects of alcohol on the brain that all people experience to a greater or lesser extent.. These effects and their severity will be explained below.

Individual differences in the effects of alcohol

It is well known that alcohol consumption, whether occasional or recurrent, can have numerous effects on the brain. When this consumption is excessive, due to alcoholism problems, it can cause irreversible brain damage.

However, although there are common patterns, the consequences of alcohol consumption are not the same for all people; there are considerable differences according to age, sex or weight. In any case, the consequences of abusing this type of beverage are always visible in the way the nervous system functions: there are no populations that are safe from the deterioration caused by consuming this drug.

The following is a list of factors that determine both the way and the degree to which alcohol affects the brain:

• Assiduity with which the person consumes alcohol..
• Age at which alcohol consumption began and duration of consumption.
• Current age of the person.
• Level of education.
• Sex.
• Genetic history.
• Family history of alcoholism.
• Prenatal exposure to alcohol.
• General health status..
• Short and long-term effects of alcohol.

Alcohol has the capacity to begin to generate effects on the organism, however slight they may be, from the first drink. This means, among other things, that there is no such thing as moderate alcohol consumption in the sense of "harmless consumption".. All these short-term effects are intensified and maintained over time as consumption becomes more and more frequent, but the wear and tear on the organism is present from the first time it is ingested.

Short-term effects of alcohol on the brain

The first effects that a person who has consumed alcohol in any dose may experience include motor disturbances, walking difficulties, slowed reaction times or slurred speech.

There are also a number of more serious consequences that appear between the first moments of alcohol consumption and hours or even days after ingestion. These effects are as follows.

1. Emotional changes

The consumption of alcohol leads to a series of imbalances in brain chemistry that affect both behavior, and affect behavior, thoughts, feelings and emotions.. These disturbances in brain chemistry favor the appearance of emotional changes such as anxiety, depression or aggressiveness.

Although traditionally, people have used alcohol as a means to disinhibit themselves, to feel relaxed or even to be more sociable and extroverted; excessive alcohol intake tends to transform these emotions into anxiety, aggressiveness and sadness or depression in the short term.

2. Memory lapses

The ingestion of alcohol can produce small deteriorations in the hippocampus. This deterioration manifests itself through lapses in memory, which may occur only a few hours after having may occur only a few hours after having consumed small amounts of alcohol..

However, when alcohol is consumed in large quantities, on an empty stomach and in short periods of time, the person may experience forgetfulness of longer periods 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 rapid ingestion causes Blood alcohol levels to rise sharply, causing fainting and loss of consciousness. and loss of consciousness.

4. Impulsivity

Consuming alcohol in both small and large doses, can interfere with the connections in the prefrontal cortex of the brain.. This area is responsible for mediating a person's impulsivity as well as the organization of his or her behavior.

When blood alcohol levels begin to rise, the person is susceptible to impulsive behaviors that they would probably never have engaged in when sober.

However, as with changes in aggressiveness, these alterations also depend on the predisposition of the individual, 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 discussed above, any of the long-term effects of alcohol can become sustained over time as consumption moves from occasional to recurrent. 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 due to the fact that drinking alcoholic beverages on a regular basis alters the levels of serotonin in the brain.specifically tends to decrease them. The decrease in the levels of this neurotransmitter responsible for regulating mood favors the appearance of all kinds of emotional disorders in the person.

2. It limits brain development in adolescents

Every time in more and more habitual the consumption in early ages, especially during the adolescence. This social consumption can end up interfering in the correct brain development of young people.

As a consequence of these variations, adolescents can develop significant deficits in the recovery of verbal and non-verbal information and in visuospatial functioning.

Also, since the brain is not fully developed during this stage, adolescent alcohol consumers are much more likely to develop 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, this damage is most visible in specific areas of these nerve cells: axons, the extensions that form the wiring of the nervous system..

4. Damage to the hippocampus

As described above, the destruction of neurons can cause serious damage to the hippocampus. This brain region is responsible for memory storage, so a series of frequent binge drinking or an addiction to alcohol can permanently damage the brain, altering the ability to memorize.

This deficit in memory storage may be preserved even after alcohol addiction is overcome.

5. Psychosis

An extreme addiction to alcohol can generate a state or disorder of psychosis in the person, who experiences all kinds of hallucinations, hallucinations, hallucinations, hallucinations, hallucinations and hallucinations. experience all kinds of hallucinations, paranoia and illusions..

Likewise, if a person with a long history of alcoholism abruptly stops drinking alcohol, he or she may develop an alcohol withdrawal syndrome, also known as "delirium tremens".

This syndrome results in hyperstimulation of the adrenergic system, causing headaches, constant agitation, body tremors, nausea and vomiting, hallucinations and even death.hallucinations and even death.

6. Wernike-Korsakoff's Syndrome

The addiction to alcohol causes, in 80% of the 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 by the fact that the person presents simultaneously a Wernike's encephalopathy and the well-known Korsakoff's syndrome. Both diseases originate from a lack of this vitamin.

Bibliographic references:

• Álvarez, M.J.S., & Vera, D.G.Z. (2008). Thiamine deficiency: Beriberi and Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Revista Medicina, 13(2): pp. 137 - 139.
• Ewing, JA (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, L. E.; 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.