How Alcohol Affects Brain Leads Alcoholism

Factors that Influence how Alcohol Affects the Brain

• FrequencyHow much and how often a person drinks.
• Age and HistoryThe age at which he or she first began drinking, and how long he or she has been drinking.
• Genetics and Family HistoryThe person’s genetic background, and family history of alcoholism.
• HealthA person’s general health status may be affected with heavy alcohol use.
• GenderWomen are more vulnerable than men to many of the medical consequences of alcohol use, such as cirrhosis, heart damage, nerve damage, and brain shrinkage.
• Prenatal alcohol exposureProblems in general intellectual
  functioning, academic skills, deficits
  in verbal learning, memory, reasoning,
  reaction time, balance, and other cognitive and
  motor skills. Some deficits, like problems with
  social functioning, appear to worsen as these
  individuals reach adolescence and adulthood,
  possibly leading to an increased rate of mental
  health disorders.

Long-term Effects of Alcohol on the Brain

• Brain shrinkage
• Memory loss
• Decreased short-term memory
• Brain produces fewer feel-good chemicals such as dopamine and serotonin on its own

New Findings on Teen Binge Drinking

• The teens whose brains showed signs of damage were only binge drinking one to two times per month.
• Teen binge drinkers also show damage to their hippocampus, a key area of the brain in memory formation. Reflecting this damage, these teens did more poorly than their non-drinking peers on learning verbal material.
• It remains to be seen whether this cognitive decline in teen binge drinkers is reversible.