Scientific facts about the effect of alcohol on the human brain - does it destroy neurons and cells? Effect of alcohol on the nervous system and brain.

In this article, we will try to tell only about a small list of problems that alcoholism leads to, if we consider this disease in the context of the impact on the most important human organ - the brain.

Alcohol has a profound effect on our brain and nervous system . Consider the specific elements that are most affected.

At regular use alcohol in humans is observed:

Speech impairment. It is harder for a drunk person to link words in a sentence and harder to pronounce them;
Deterioration of coordination . A drunk person does not have 100% control over his body. It becomes harder for him to move around;
Distorted Reality . A drunk person's reality is not real. He sees the world differently. He may not realize the gravity of the situation. This is due to the fact that while drinking alcohol, the brain receives signals from the excitatory acid contained in it;
Deterioration cognitive functions of the brain ;
Focus Narrowing perceived information. It is very difficult for a drunk person to concentrate, it is difficult to listen and generally perceive any information;
A person who has consumed wine or vodka (and, in fact, any type of alcoholic beverage) does not have the opportunity to sensibly and adequately assess the situation . Again, because his reality is not real;
Increased aggression . In drunken people, all moral barriers disappear. Therefore, often noisy feasts end in fights.

So remember before you decide to drink. Such imaginary happiness is not worth the problems that it can lead to.

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Long-term alcohol consumption in humans disrupts work of brain centers , which is responsible for cognitive abilities, memory and attention deteriorate. People who abuse alcohol have lack of vitamin B1 , due to this shortage, the organ does not work properly. It is worth noting that a low-grade drink is no less harmful.

If you do not stop drinking alcohol regularly in time, then this can lead to such diseases. , how:

dementia;
Karsakov's disease;
encephalopathy of alcoholic origin;
paranoia;
hallucinations;
apathy.

If you can’t do without alcohol, then know that there are certain norms of consumption alcohol per day.

Narcologists say that with such norms the body will not feel bad. However, safe doses of alcohol depend on the individual capabilities of the body. Therefore, it is better to consult a doctor. Below are the average rates.

For men 30 to 40 with a weight of 75 kg:

beer- 0,5 liters;
fortified wine - 200 gram.

For women from 25 to 35 with weight up to 70 kg:

beer- 0,3 ;
fortified wine - 150 gram.

However, it is worth remembering that even such alcohol consumption long term , will turn sideways for you and your brain.

The earlier a teenager starts drinking alcohol, the faster the mental organ is destroyed. All those problems that are typical for adults, typical for teenagers . But due to the fact that it is during adolescence that the brain and central nervous system complete their development, this has a more detrimental effect on a person.

due to high metabolism alcohol is absorbed faster into the circulatory system and, increasing its destructive effect, destroys the brain of a teenager:

Coming delay intellectual and emotional development;
Comes almost instantly degradation personality;
Neurological and psychiatric deviations;
Very fast addiction to alcohol is formed.

Addiction formed in two or three years regular alcohol consumption. In order not to treat addiction in a child later, you need to think about it now.

Psychologist advice! If you often drink alcohol and your child has begun to do the same, then show by your example that there are things more interesting and entertaining than alcohol. First of all, give up all types of alcohol-containing drinks yourself. Secondly, try to walk more, go to the cinema, play sports games. Thirdly, help your child find interests, hobbies. If he has an interesting pastime, then he will not have time for drinking.

Remember, children always take example from your parents . Who your child will become is up to you.

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dependency type:

There is no danger to the body, the habit of drinking is characteristic of many people, but in the indicated quantities and with the indicated parameters of the patient, it does no harm to the body. Many people on holidays and after work relieve stress with alcohol, but are not addicted to it.

The patient sees alcohol as a way out of difficult situations and resorts to alcohol drinks more and more often. This stage is dangerous because in any difficult situation in life, this stage can smoothly move into the next one, which is much more dangerous for health.

At this stage, an addicted person can no longer do without alcohol, but he is firmly convinced that he is able to quit at any time, but not today. Already here complications with the liver and other difficulties with the organs and well-being can begin.

Special treatment and a small rehabilitation course, plus the support of relatives, are able to withdraw from this stage. This stage can provoke very serious problems with the liver and other organs, which will lead to illness for the rest of your life.

This stage is not hopeless, but it requires an extremely serious approach to treatment and a long period of rehabilitation, with regular medical procedures, many drugs and, often, expensive treatment.

Duration of addiction treatment:

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Effects of alcohol on the brain

Long-term and regular use of alcohol leads to to the death of billions of nerve cells . Already after 4 years, the brain of a drunkard decreases in size, which adversely affects the mental abilities of a person. Same way, the mass of the organ also decreases - he dries up.

Organic lesions the brain of an alcoholic affect the work of the main functions, incl. thinking:

Getting difficult elementary brainwork , the criticality of thinking decreases, the thought process itself narrows and worsens.
Deteriorating character, prevails irritability , aggression.
Due to the release of a large amount of dopamine when drinking various alcoholic beverages, ethanol is formed fast addiction , there is alcoholization, difficult to treat.
Regular use of alcohol leads to a complete shutdown of highly organized brain structures. Human activity becomes subject to the subcortex, drunkard degenerates as a person .

Be above it all do not abuse wine, vodka, cognac and beer drinks . If you have such problems, then there is no need to despair.

Doctors say that you can return to a full and healthy life only after complete abstinence from alcohol , while the brain is fully restored in a couple of years.

You there is a chance to return to a fulfilling life. In the next paragraph, we will analyze the methods of treatment in more detail.

Methods of treatment

In modern medicine there are many ways to get rid from alcohol addiction:

hemming;
coding;
hypnosis;
hardware impact;
psychotherapy;
various non-traditional methods of treatment.

Let's consider each method in more detail, while remembering that only after being cured, you can return your brain to order:

hemming. Binding for drunkenness is one of the old treatments. A certain drug is sewn under the skin or injected intravenously into the patient. If a person drinks, the drugs release toxic substances that lead to vomiting and nausea. The purpose of this method of treating alcoholism is to create in the patient an aversion to alcoholic beverages.
Coding. One of the most effective methods of addiction treatment is coding - emotional stress psychotherapy. With the help of mental influence on the patient, a ban on alcohol is created. The doctor, with the help of an emotionally stressful conversation, inspires the patient that even with the use of small doses of alcohol, he will face severe, dangerous consequences that threaten his life.
Hypnosis. In the treatment of bad habits, hypnosis is used, which gives good results, but is not suitable for everyone. If a person is not suggestible, the session will not help to give up alcohol. In a state of hypnosis, the patient is suggested aversion or indifference to alcoholic beverages, severe consequences after its use. The complexity of the method is that the patient must come to the appointment as an absolutely sober person, otherwise he will not accept the information. For people less susceptible to hypnotherapy, physical measures can be used.
Hardware impact - a modern method of treating alcohol addiction with the help of special medical equipment that acts on the patient's brain. With the help of such treatment, the work of the organ is restored, the activity of the centers responsible for the attraction to alcohol is blocked. The desire to drink is eliminated and the patient can start life anew.
Psychotherapy has long established itself as an effective way to treat addiction. This includes the author's methods of treatment by Malkin, the psychotherapeutic method of Rozhnov, collective sessions and other methods. The patient is influenced by psychotherapeutic settings to maintain the emotional-volitional state. It can be used alone and in parallel with other treatments. In order for the rehabilitation process to be more effective, the patient's family must take part in it.
Other rehabilitation methods other than coding include traditional medicine recipes . Since ancient times, people have been treated for alcohol addiction with the help of herbs and plants. Some medicinal herbs reduce the craving for certain drinks, such as: creeping thyme, centaury, St. John's wort, wormwood, angelica. They are not considered a full-fledged remedy for drunkenness, but their use helps to support the body in a difficult period, to restore strength.

Do not forget that the person himself is very difficult to decide on treatment .

Everyone knows about the dangers of alcohol. Excessive consumption causes health problems, leads to family discord and moral decay of a person. The problems caused by alcohol are not only physiological, but also psychological in nature - this is the so-called alcohol dependence, leading to encephalopathy and edema. The brain of an alcoholic is very different from that of a sober person.

Harm caused by alcohol

Ethanol causes the greatest harm to the body - a toxic substance that poisons almost all organs, and is the main cause of serious diseases. Ethanol poisoning leads to encephalopathy and permanent edema, and even death, in abusers. Organs affected include:

Cardiovascular system: alcohol destroys red blood cells, which leads to toxic hemolytic anemia and cardiac arrest, the development of arrhythmia and cardiomyopathy. Also, internal hemorrhages occur, the formation of blood clots increases, which can subsequently clog the vessel and cause intracerebral edema, stroke or heart attack.
Stomach and gastrointestinal tract: there is damage to the mucous membrane of the stomach and small intestine, the absorption of water and substances is disturbed, severe edema occurs. Prolonged use can lead to cancer of the esophagus, stomach or rectum, the development of gastritis.
Urogenital system: ethanol poisons germ cells, easily penetrates the ovaries, sperm, and also passes through the placenta and enters the milk.
Liver: when drinking alcohol, liver poisoning occurs, some of the cells die, and fat cells form in their place. This leads to a decrease in the useful volume of the liver and an increase in the load on the remaining cells, inflammation and the formation of cirrhosis of the liver and its edema.

Also, the effect of alcohol can provoke oncological diseases, diabetes, cerebral encephalopathy, edema, various forms of cancer and diseases associated with the cardiovascular system. The prognosis for the health of abusers is very negative.

The effect of alcohol on the brain

The effect of even small doses of alcohol on the brain is the strongest. Suffice it to say that when the concentration of alcohol in the blood is equal to one part, the liver already contains 1.45 parts, the cerebrospinal fluid - 1.5 parts, the brain - 1.75 parts, that is, almost two times. Immediately after alcohol enters the stomach, it enters the bloodstream and is transferred to the skull, where it begins to poison the cells, leading to encephalopathy and edema.

Harmful properties include:

Studies have also shown that the brain of an alcoholic is significantly different: their nerve cells had altered nuclei and protoplasm, that is, they were no longer able to return to their normal state. Encephalopathy occurs.

A particular danger lies in its narcotic properties: the brain does not die easily, but also begins to demand a second dose. It is not even necessary to talk about the dangers of this.

What happens to the brain when alcohol enters and what is the result

Alcohol acts on the brain in the following ways:

The ingestion of ethanol leads to the death of neurons in the cerebral cortex and cerebellum;
Then their death occurs, mental activity decreases, brain volume and memory decrease, and the likelihood of edema is high;
Dead cells begin to rot inside the brain, leading to headaches and hangovers;
To cleanse itself, the brain pumps large amounts of water through itself (hence the morning thirst and frequent trips to the toilet).

The result of regular alcohol consumption is deplorable: if most of the organs are able to recover and revive dead cells, then the brain is incapable of this. His cells die completely along with the information stored inside. This leads to a variety of consequences:

The process of personality degradation begins;
There is a deterioration of memory and intelligence, especially the impact on short-term memory;
The processes of long-term memorization are deformed;
The activity of the entire nervous system is disrupted;
The brain decreases in volume, "dries out", begins to decompose - this is especially noticeable in alcoholics.

On average, 100 grams of vodka kills 8,000 cells. Poisoned substances are excreted from the body in 20-30 days.

Full recovery of brain cells may take several years, but this probability is extremely small. It is necessary to completely abandon any alcohol so that the cells can return to their usual volume.

The effect of alcohol on memory and mental activity

Drinking alcohol not only interferes with the functioning of the brain, but also reduces mental activity, which leads to personality degradation and encephalopathy. The changes that occur are practically not subject to subsequent adjustment, it can be quite difficult to recover completely, that is, the damage done is stretched over time:

There is a slowdown in mental activity, especially complex mental processes;
It is worth noting that false "brilliant" conversations and the search for solutions are the result of a deterioration in brain activity: a person does not become smarter, the brain simply suggests a simpler solution, since it is not able to come up with a more difficult one;
The process of criticism and judgment weakens, but there is an increase in the feeling of self-confidence and boasting;
The above reasons lead to an increase in sensitivity and an emotional component: this includes unexpected confessions and intimate conversations.

From this article you will learn about the extent of the tragedy called alcoholism, as well as:

The scale of the tragedy

Unfortunately, recent studies confirm the high danger of alcohol. Thus, the studies of David Natta, a well-known psychiatrist and pharmacologist, identified alcohol as the most dangerous substance, with a pronounced negative effect on a person’s psychological and physical health. The scientist found that prolonged use of alcohol affects the body more than the use of hard drugs, LSD and other hallucinogens. Have you thought about how many people drink?

Some statistics

More than 85% of the people on planet Earth have used or regularly use alcohol;
Every fourth adult resident of Russia suffers from domestic alcoholism;
65% of teenagers under 13 have tried alcohol;
40% of minors aged 13-18 regularly drink alcohol;
According to WHO estimates, Russians consume per capita more than 15 liters of pure ethyl alcohol per year;
For comparison, at the beginning of the 19th century in Russia, consumption did not exceed 3.5-4 liters per capita.

To summarize, according to WHO data for 2014, every second person periodically consumes alcohol. If we take the total damage to humanity, during the years of exposure to alcohol, colossal damage has been received, not comparable to the harm from all known drugs combined.

The effect of alcohol on the human brain

The use of alcohol to affect the brain began at the dawn of civilization. Addiction, legalization and popularization of alcohol consumption has become a great tragedy for mankind. Having fun, raising your mood with new doses of cocktails and strong strong drinks, a person does not think that impaired coordination, slurred tongue, memory lapses and aggression are the results of a negative effect on the body from alcohol.

About 20% of alcohol is absorbed by the stomach, the rest goes into the small intestine. This leads to the fact that strong drinks “hit the head” faster, and if you eat tightly before a feast, intoxication will not come so quickly. As soon as the absorption of alcohol has begun, it is instantly distributed throughout the body with the help of the human circulatory system.

A decrease in the level of neurotransmitters (substances responsible for the transmission of impulses from neurons to muscle tissues) leads to a deterioration in the reaction, impaired coordination. Moreover, a change in the balance of neurotransmitters can lead to the excitation of brain activity, or vice versa - to suppress it. As a result of taking “on the chest”, some people become calm, and they can even be sleepy, some show aggression, lose their common sense, and behave inappropriately to the situation.

Another effect was discovered in 1961 by American scientists. They found that a drunken person in the blood appears a huge number of microthrombi, consisting of hundreds and thousands of blood cells. This phenomenon is called "grape clusters". The reason for this phenomenon is the presence of alcohol in the blood. By drinking beer, vodka, wine, and after being absorbed into the blood, blood thins, it increases its fluidity, which leads to a change in cell membranes in neurons.

The next stage is dehydration, paradoxical as it may seem, but it is impossible to compensate for the loss of fluid by additional water intake, again, due to aggregation (clumping) of red blood cells. The body begins to show the first signs of fluid loss.

Oxygen starvation - this is the euphoria effect, for which some people love to "step on the cork" so much. A dehydrated body, capillaries clogged with large plaques disrupt the supply of oxygen to the cerebral cortex. This leads to the suppression of self-control, knocks down logical thinking, reduces intellectual abilities at times, and in some cases, it can even lead to loss of consciousness.

hangover syndrome. You have to pay for everything, in the case of alcohol consumption, this payment is acidification of the blood. Naturally, a hangover is a temporary phenomenon, however, depending on the scope of the celebration, there may be prolonged and painful spasms, active sweating, headaches, temporary incoordination, memory lapses.

Do you know why it is so important for alcoholics to get a hangover? As a result of the regular influence of alcohol on the brain, an ischemic stroke occurs. It occurs due to the fact that the blood does not carry oxygen to the cerebral cortex. The use of a new dose of poison increases the heartbeat, increases the fluidity of the blood, and only in such conditions is the nourishment of neurons partially resumed. Partially, the plaques in the blood do not have time to be removed, the pressure on the walls of the capillaries increases. This situation ends with a rupture of blood vessels, which causes a stroke or heart attack.

What parts of the brain are damaged?

The occipital part of the brain. The result is impaired coordination when walking, frequent falls, injuries, one of the reasons for such a high mortality from alcohol exposure.
The centers responsible for common sense, decency, moral behavior are blocked. The result is immoral behavior, an increase in the level of crime while intoxicated, suicides.
The mechanism of recording and playback of memory is broken. The result is memory lapses, fragmentary memories.

Do not forget about psychological deviations, such as "white tremens", the appearance of mania and phobias, chronic alcoholism, and the manifestation of aggression. Alcohol has been used by humans for centuries and is one of the most popular forms of "relaxation", but it is worth understanding the seriousness of the consequences. If you cannot completely give up alcohol, reduce the amount of alcohol you drink and watch for a decrease in its negative impact:

Do not exceed doses of more than 50 ml of alcohol;
Drink more water, eat more food;
Do not drive or abuse in hazardous conditions;
Try to limit yourself in behavior, control your condition during a feast;
Do not drink cheap strong alcohol;
Do not mix drugs, drugs and alcohol.

Drinking alcohol is very much like exploding a bomb for the body. Absolutely all organs are totally damaged due to influence at the cellular level.

On the human brain has long been proven and comprehensively studied. However, as shown by numerous studies, each alcoholic organic brain damage manifests itself with varying degrees of severity. Some develop extremely serious problems, while other drinkers do not suffer from such disorders. But be that as it may, under any circumstances, the effect of alcohol on the human brain remains purely negative.

How alcohol affects the human brain

Almost all organs of the human body are exposed to the negative effects of alcoholic beverages. But it is the brain that suffers the most. Alcohol, which is part of any alcoholic beverage, very quickly enters the bloodstream to the brain. Under its influence, intensive destructive processes begin.

Even after drinking alcohol in a small amount, "thinning" of the blood is noted. Fluidity increases, erythrocytes become more mobile, and aggregation decreases. When alcohol gets into nerve cells and brain cells, the normal structure of their membranes is disrupted.

By increasing the dose of alcohol, a person causes enormous harm to his body. The blood becomes dehydrated and thickens. This occurs against the background of suppression of antidiuretic hormone. The parallel use of non-alcoholic liquids can compensate to some extent for the damage, but the amount of water in the body will not increase from this.

At the same time, ethanol - the main component of any alcoholic beverage - is an excellent solvent. Due to these properties, it can dissolve the membranes of erythrocytes - one of the most important cells in human blood. Blood cells stick together, resulting in thrombosis. Under normal conditions, red blood cells have a negative charge, which allows them to repel each other. Under the influence of alcohol, the thin protective layer of cells is destroyed, the charge is disturbed and the red blood cells stick together.

As a result, stuck together cells clog the capillaries, and this already leads to oxygen starvation and tissue dehydration. It is against the background of such changes that a feeling of euphoria familiar to every drinking person appears, often accompanied by a decrease in the ability to think logically.

Almost everyone who has consumed alcohol at least once in their life has experienced such an unpleasant condition as a hangover. Here, too, there is a very strong aggregation (sticking together). A hangover is inevitably accompanied by a process of acidification of the blood, leading to a decrease in the negative charge of red blood cells and their adhesion. In addition, there is a thickening of the blood and dehydration. If a person consumes alcohol rarely, then it does not cause particularly pronounced harm to him. However, those who drink regularly and in very large doses develop extremely serious brain diseases.

What does drinking alcohol lead to?

The harmful effects of alcohol on the human brain can be of a very diverse nature. It was previously noted that blood clots form under the influence of alcohol. At the same time, alcohol leads to vasodilation and a decrease in the intensity of erythrocyte aggregation. Here everything largely depends on the individual characteristics of the body of an alcoholic. However, there is nothing good in this. Against the background of bleeding of the brain, an ischemic stroke may occur, which is an extremely serious disease.

There is another side of the coin. When drinking alcohol, not only blood thinning is noted, but also an acceleration of the heart rate. As a result, blood begins to flow at a much higher rate. It can be compared with a pipeline through which water was let in under very high pressure. New pipes usually withstand such a test, but old ones can behave unpredictably. Especially when you consider the fact that red blood cells “stick together” due to alcohol and create “congestion”. As a result, there is an increase in pressure in the vessel, up to the point that it bursts. The space around is filled with blood and a stroke or heart attack occurs.

Under the influence of alcoholic beverages, various disorders of the cerebral cortex appear, which is why alcohol intoxication occurs. At the same time, they suffer:

The occipital part of the brain. It controls the vestibular apparatus. It is because of this that in drunken people the normal coordination of movements is disturbed.

The so-called "moral center". Drunkards change their idea of morality, morality and rules of conduct. Even with the use of a small dose of alcohol, the feeling of shame is dulled and the person becomes more liberated. What can we say about alcoholics who drink a lot and regularly.

Part of the brain responsible for memory and memories. How many times have you heard from other people that they do not remember the events that accompanied yesterday's drinking? Or maybe you have noticed this? All these are consequences of the negative effect of alcohol on the brain.

Against the background of alcoholism, there is a slowdown and disruption of the normal functioning of the brain centers, memory and attention suffer greatly. As a result, these changes lead to a profound change in the character and in general the human psyche. There is a gradual destruction of normal thought processes, a radical change in personality occurs, it begins to degrade. If you do not stop drinking on time, the harmful effects of alcohol on the brain can be so strong that degradation is irreversible.

With an average degree of intoxication, which is characterized by an alcohol concentration of 0.2%, a person has a violation of coordination of movements and speech. At an alcohol concentration of 0.4%, the state of the drunkard is already close to comatose. Increasing the alcohol content to 0.6-0.7% in most people leads to respiratory arrest and death.

What determines the intensity of the negative impact on the brain?

The negative effect of alcohol on the human brain can be proven without any medical research. Legs tangle, reaction becomes slow, incoherent speech and memory lapses appear - all this is a vivid confirmation of the harmful effects of alcoholic beverages. In people who are not alcoholics, all this passes quickly enough, you just need to stop the flow of alcohol and sober up. If alcohol is consumed frequently and in large quantities, its detrimental effect on the brain remains even long after the immediate effect of ethanol has ended.

That is, alcohol abuse initially lays the foundation for negative, in the long term, consequences for the human body as a whole and its brain in particular. Harm of alcoholic beverages manifests itself, ranging from simple short-term memory lapses to fatal diseases. The results of the latest medical research and qualified tests confirm that even with moderate alcohol consumption, very serious changes occur in the human brain.

The degree of influence of ethanol on brain cells depends on a number of factors, namely:

The amount of alcohol consumed and the frequency of its use.

The age at which the alcoholic began to drink, and the length of time during which alcohol was consumed on a regular basis.

The age of the drunkard, his gender, education, hereditary predisposition to alcoholism. So it is noticed that people whose close relatives have abused alcohol are more at risk of developing alcoholism.

Attitude to alcohol on the part of the mother of a person during her pregnancy. It has been established that prenatal alcohol poisoning significantly increases the likelihood of developing alcoholism.

General health status.

As a result of the harmful effects of alcohol on the human brain, many different diseases develop. Special attention should be paid to such a problem as alcoholism among women. The characteristics of the body of the representatives of the weaker sex are such that alcohol causes them much more harm. About all this further.

Problems with memory and consciousness

Even after drinking a small amount of alcohol, a person may develop memory problems. And the more he drinks, the harder and longer these failures will be. The harmful effect of alcohol on the human brain is also manifested in the fact that in a state of intoxication, the mind becomes cloudy, and the drunkard becomes unable to fully account for his actions. The reaction to the environment becomes inadequate and biased. In some situations, a person is unable to normally perceive the actions and speech of other people, which becomes the most common cause of fights while intoxicated.

It has been established that short-term lapses in consciousness on the background of drinking alcohol occur much more often than previously thought by medicine. Moreover, this effect does not depend on the age of the person and on the presence of symptoms of alcoholism. A large-scale study was conducted, the purpose of which was to establish the harm of alcoholic beverages associated with short-term clouding of the mind. More than 700 young people, students of higher educational institutions, were asked just one question: "Have you ever had such a thing that in the morning you could not remember the events of yesterday's drinking?" More than half of the respondents answered in the affirmative. Some even admitted that under the influence of alcohol they did things that they would never have agreed to when sober, and in the morning, analyzing the events, they felt a great sense of shame. Some even developed depression, which, by the way, is also one of the manifestations of the harmful effects of alcohol on the human brain.

As for the more adult audience of the respondents, its representatives also reported short-term memory lapses. Such violations were noted in both sexes, although according to statistics, men drink alcohol more often than women, and in much larger quantities. Thus, we can conclude that alcohol is more harmful for women than for men. In a state of intoxication, women are much more likely to lose control of themselves and after the end of the action of alcohol they cannot remember the events. All this is due to the different mechanism of assimilation of ethanol by female and male organisms. When drinking alcoholic beverages in the same amounts, a woman is more likely to forget what is happening than a man.

Features of the influence of alcohol on the woman's brain

Representatives of the weaker sex are much more difficult to tolerate the effects of alcohol. Numerous clinical studies have found that female alcoholics develop heart disease, cirrhosis, problems with the nervous system, and other disorders that result from alcohol abuse, develop much faster than men.

Alcohol becomes especially dangerous during pregnancy. Because of it, not only the woman’s body suffers, but also the developing fetus. In the future, the child may develop serious brain diseases. In the most difficult situations, the so-called. fetal alcohol syndrome. This is a complex of symptoms that appear in children due to the abuse of alcohol by their mother during pregnancy. Such children often develop defects in external organs, they develop and grow more slowly compared to their healthy peers. In some situations, there is an increase in the size of the brain, but the brain cells, at the same time, are noticeably smaller than in healthy children. Dysfunction of brain neuron cells in children with this syndrome leads to a variety of behavioral and cognitive disorders.

What brain diseases does alcohol cause?

Under the influence of alcohol, many brain diseases develop, primarily associated with 2 factors that ethanol affects the body:

Alcohol is characterized by a neurotoxic effect, i.e. under its influence, the death of the cells of the cerebral cortex occurs.

Against the background of alcoholism, there is a lack of vitamin B1, the deficiency of which leads to a violation of basic brain functions.

With prolonged use of alcohol, the factors mentioned above lead to a severe organic brain disease known as alcoholic encephalopathy. The characteristic symptoms of this disease are emotional instability, memory loss, apathy and indifference, general malaise. Signs of encephalopathy are confirmation of the transition of clinical alcoholism to its last stage.

Korsakov's disease is one of the most severe brain diseases that develop against the background of alcohol abuse. It is characterized by the simultaneous presence of alcoholic encephalopathy in a patient, accompanied by dementia and severe memory problems, and polyneuritis. Alcoholics with this disease do not navigate in time at all, they cannot determine not only the day, but also the year, and sometimes the season, they are incapable of elementary arithmetic calculations, it is difficult for them to move, the muscles of the limbs atrophy. As a result, the alcoholic becomes severely disabled, unable to live without third-party care.

Quite often, alcoholics develop another very serious disease - alcoholic epilepsy. With alcoholic epilepsy, unlike the true form of the disease, seizures appear only in a hangover state. If a person stops drinking, they do not recur. However, having appeared once, such an attack can easily occur with any hangover in the future. If the seizures are repeated, the person will gradually develop dementia. Alcoholic epileptic seizures begin, as a rule, suddenly, and are accompanied by loss of consciousness. That is why alcoholics are categorically not recommended to climb to heights, relax on water bodies, drive vehicles, work with various kinds of moving mechanisms, even in a state of slight hangover.

The brain is directly connected to the human nervous system, so the negative impact of alcohol is reflected here as well. In particular, many problems appear in patients with a disorder of the autonomic nervous system. These are very severe attacks, which are characterized by increased heart rate, the appearance of a feeling of suffocation, increased pressure, various strange sensations, a sense of fear, depression, etc.

Alcoholics inevitably develop a variety of mental illnesses. At the same time, deviations of varying severity are found in each addict. In mild cases, everything is usually limited to general neurotic disorders, which include the following symptoms:

Sleep problems.

Rapid fatigue, feeling of general malaise.

Mood changes, irritability.

Alcoholics experience negative personality changes. The range of their interests is narrowed literally to drunkenness, they become deceitful and irresponsible and. Over time, changes in the personality of a drunkard will only progress, in some cases reaching complete degradation. Railway station homeless alcoholics are a prime example of such changes.

A variety of psychoses can be attributed to severe mental illness of alcoholic origin. Most often it is:

Delirium tremens.

Delirium of jealousy, developing on the background of alcoholism.

Alcohol paranoia.

Alcoholic hallucinosis.

As for the alcoholic delirium of jealousy, in the case of him everything becomes clear from the name. As a rule, this is a chronic disorder that retains its strength for many years, almost all life. At best, emotional saturation decreases only by retirement age. Both the alcoholic and the object of his jealousy suffer from this disorder. You can forget about a normal life with a person. These are constant showdowns, reproaches and threats, assault and other “charms”.

No less common mental illness of alcoholic origin is the so-called. delirium tremens. The disease is not at all funny, although it has become the hero of many jokes. A more scientific name is alcoholic delirium. Occurs in alcoholics who have abruptly stopped drinking. This is exactly the case when the statement that it is impossible to stop drinking abruptly turns out to be correct. In a state of delirium tremens, an alcoholic is dangerous for himself and those around him. He needs urgent hospitalization and comprehensive treatment.

No less common and varieties of acute psychoses that develop in alcoholics are paranoia and hallucinosis. They have some similar features with delirium tremens, for example, they also begin to develop with a sharp rejection of alcohol, but are characterized by less pronounced obscurations of consciousness. Patients develop auditory hallucinations, they begin to hear various "voices". The alcoholic believes in the reality of voices and begins to look for their source, experiencing, at the same time, confusion and bewilderment. Hallucinations can have a wide variety of content. Often there are threatening voices, because of which, over time, the patient develops a very strong fear. The consequences can be unpredictable. The patient requires mandatory hospitalization and qualified treatment.

It has been proven that in the human body there is not a single organ and not a single system that is not subject to the harmful effects of alcohol. But the brain, studies show, suffers the most. Alcoholism is also dangerous because many addicts simply do not realize their problem. They create a sense of illusory well-being. If timely measures are not taken, the consequences will be unpredictable. Therefore, if you already drink alcohol, do it in moderation, be sure to monitor the condition of people close to you and try to prevent them from becoming alcoholics. Be healthy!

The alcohol lobby does its job. And there are people who believe in it...

You can often hear the statement that in small doses alcohol is useful, it promotes vasodilation and improves blood circulation. For a long time, studies have been conducted on the effect of alcohol on the human brain, comparing the vessels, heart and brain of an alcoholic with the organs of a non-drinking person. Studies have found that ethanol has a detrimental and often irreversible effect on the brain.

It has been established that ethyl alcohol affects the human nervous system and brain in 3 stages:

at the first stage, there is a feeling of euphoria or aggression;
at the second stage, millions of neurons die and the organism is poisoned;
on the third comes the degradation of the central nervous system and the brain. It is very difficult to restore the full functioning of the brain after the onset of this stage. Often a person permanently loses some abilities.

Euphoric stage

Any alcoholic drink - beer, wine, vodka, cognac, brandy, rum - contains ethyl alcohol. Once in the stomach, it is partially cleaved under the action of the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, the remaining ethanol is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream and carried by the bloodstream throughout the body. The liver takes the first hit. It produces a large number of enzymes called acetaldehyderogenase, which neutralize some of the toxins to acetic acid, but the remaining alcohol continues to travel through the circulatory system. Ethyl alcohol is primarily absorbed in the reproductive and nervous system.

Under the influence of ethanol, the vessels of the brain expand. The rush of blood has a stimulating effect on all brain centers, the medial forebrain bundle or pleasure center is especially sensitive. As a result, the production of endorphins, the hormones of happiness, is stimulated, so the drinker has a feeling of euphoria. Depending on the individual physiological and mental characteristics, stimulation of this group of neurons causes aggression in some people.

Expansion of blood vessels and filling them with blood at the first stage causes a short-term decrease in pressure, so doctors do not prohibit alcohol in small doses for hypertensive patients. But vasodilation lasts an average of 30 minutes, and the complete breakdown of ethyl alcohol to safe components in the human body occurs at an average rate of 30 grams per hour, so the second stage soon sets in - toxic, when the harmful effects of alcohol on the human brain are noted.

Stage of poisoning

Enzymes continue to slowly break down ethanol, so alcohol continues to poison the body (the breakdown products also have a toxic effect). After the expansion of blood vessels, it begins to act on the blood. Ethyl alcohol dissolves the membranes of red blood cells, as a result of which they stick together, forming clots, a process called "sludge". When blood is sludged, the formed clots clog the capillaries, including those in the brain. Unable to withstand the blood pressure, such capillaries burst, many microscopic hemorrhages form in the brain.

In addition, "spoiled" blood can no longer fully perform its functions and fill tissues with oxygen and nutrients in sufficient volume. This is especially detrimental to the brain, since oxygen starvation leads to massive death of nerve cells. Literally, alcohol destroys the brain.

Dead cells are excreted from the body with urine in about one day. Brain recovery is very slow, which explains the inhibition and poor reaction of a person, a decrease in his intelligence for 2 weeks after taking a large dose of alcohol.

The harmful effect of alcohol on the brain is accompanied by a malfunction of the entire central nervous system. The subcortical centers and frontal lobes perceive impulses chaotically, which causes changes in behavior - drunk people cease to control their actions: euphoria is replaced by apathy (the emotional background is reduced) or aggression, consciousness is confused, thoughts lose clarity, reflexes slow down, the language is spun.
Already at this stage, the harm of alcohol is very pronounced, but ethyl alcohol does not stop its action. It is absorbed into all parts of the brain - the hypothalamus, thalamus, cerebellum, midbrain and medulla oblongata, disrupting their functions.

Fact! At high doses of alcohol, blood slugging becomes irreversible, which causes strokes and heart attacks.

Stage of degradation

Damage to brain cells, the death of millions of neurons, massive hemorrhages cannot pass without a trace for a person. With prolonged use of alcohol in large quantities, brain cells die faster than they are restored. As a result, they become less and less, the brain of an alcoholic seems to dry out. Autopsies confirm that the brain of a chronic alcoholic is smaller in size and weight compared to the brain of a healthy person. Histological studies have revealed that serious destructive changes occur in the brain of a drinking person, which entail an accelerated transmission of nerve impulses. In life, it looks like overexcitation, nervousness, aggressiveness. The described mechanism of action of alcohol includes 3 stages of impact on the human body in general and the brain in particular.

But sometimes events develop in a different way: a single intake of a large amount of alcohol does not give the body time to cope with the toxins that are released during the first stage of ethanol breakdown, the poison damages the medulla oblongata, which is responsible for respiratory function. This is very dangerous, as the destruction of this section can cause respiratory spasms, coma and death. However, too much alcohol often provokes vomiting. In this case, vomiting is a protective reaction of the body, which allows you to quickly remove excess ethanol from the body.

Effects of drinking alcohol on the brain

Here is what happens to the brain when drinking alcohol:

Drinking alcohol in any amount leads to the death of brain cells - neurons, and the number of dead cells is directly proportional to the alcohol consumed.
The slugging (gluing of red blood cells) of the blood causes thrombosis of the capillaries, which causes numerous small hemorrhages in the brain or stroke.
Over time, the appearance of the organ changes: the brain decreases in size, its convolutions are smoothed out.

Intense alcohol poisoning of the brain leads to the following consequences:

impaired coordination of movements;
an adequate assessment of reality is reduced;
memory and intellect are impaired;
thought processes slow down;
vision and hearing are dulled;
there are difficulties in orienting on the ground;
a person is not able to cope with outbursts of anger;
heartbeat quickens, dizziness appears;
loss of sensitivity to pain.

In severe poisoning, alcohol acts as a hallucinogen: a person begins to see unrealistic images and non-existent objects.

After 3-4 years of constant drinking, the effect of alcohol on the brain causes:

difficulties even with simple mental work;
the thought process becomes extremely limited;
reduced critical thinking;
a person becomes extremely unstable emotionally: bouts of irritation are replaced by apathy, alcoholic depression may develop;
as a result of the fact that alcohol kills brain cells, diseases such as dementia, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease develop.

The process of brain recovery is possible, although it is extremely slow.

Prevention and recovery of the brain after alcohol

After giving up alcohol, returning to a normal life is very difficult, but possible. First of all, it is necessary that ethanol no longer enters the body, and over time it will be cleared of harmful substances. For the fastest cleansing of the body, it is recommended to detoxify it with the help of medications. Next, you need to lead a healthy lifestyle, drink a course of vitamins, if possible, take a course of sanatorium treatment. This will help the body poisoned by alcohol to regain strength and health.

After giving up alcohol, all organs recover in different ways, but the nervous system and brain are the slowest to return to life. To fully restore their functions, it will take several years after the complete cessation of drinking alcohol. Scientists, studying the effect of alcohol on the brain, come to the conclusion that it will not be possible to completely return the former opportunities to 100%, and even after 10 years, by characteristic behavior and reduced intelligence, it will be possible to recognize someone who once abused alcohol. But this applies only to chronic alcoholics. If a person takes moderate doses of alcohol, then the brain will be disturbed only slightly and recovery is not required.

Safe doses of alcohol depend on the individual capabilities of the body. Average permitted alcoholic beverages per day for a man aged 30 to 40 weighing 75 kg:

beer - 0.5 liters,
fortified wine - 200 grams,
vodka - 50 grams.

For women aged 25 to 35 years weighing 70 kg per day without harm to health, you can drink:

beer - 0.3 liters,
fortified wine - 150 grams,
vodka - 30 grams.

At the same time, at least 3 days a week should be completely “sober”.

The destructive process of the action of alcohol on the brain and central nervous system can lead to irreversible consequences and complete degradation of the personality. You can return to a full and healthy life after a complete rejection of alcohol, while the brain recovers completely within a few years.