A person's relationship with alcohol cannot be called simple: some completely refuse this kind of drink, while the rest often lose their sense of proportion, knocking over the first glass. Why? Chemically speaking, alcohol is a simple molecule, but its effects on the brain are quite complex. In addition, different people react differently to different doses of alcohol depending on the situation. Estet-portal.com will tell you how the brain behaves after alcohol, what determines the specific behavior of a person who is intoxicated.
Brain behavior after alcohol – dependence on blood concentration
After ingestion of alcohol, it enters the gastrointestinal tract, and from there it is absorbed into the blood. The amount of alcohol that enters the blood depends on genetic characteristics, as well as the presence of food in the stomach (which can reduce the amount of alcohol absorbed) and other characteristics of the body. The higher the concentration of this substance in the blood, the more the brain changes after alcohol.
A person's size and the ratio between muscle and fat in the body also affects the increase in blood alcohol concentration after drinking. Since alcohol is a water-soluble substance, two people of the same weight can have different concentrations of alcohol in the blood: if one of them has muscle tissue in the body, there will be less alcohol in the blood, and if the body is dominated by fat, more alcohol will enter the blood .
Once in the bloodstream, alcohol affects many organs of the human body, not just the nervous system. As for the latter, for the central nervous system, alcohol – depressant. This means that it slows down "communication"; between brain cells and nerves in the body. Next, we will consider the following points:
- brain after alcohol in small doses;
- brain after alcohol in significant doses;
- environmental and mood effects on the brain after alcohol.
The brain after alcohol: small doses
The reason alcohol acts as a "social lubricant" is that it inhibits the functions of the brain's limbic system, which is responsible for generating fear, anxiety, and worry. That is why a couple of glasses / glasses of an alcoholic drink make us more courageous and sociable.
In addition, the brain after alcohol is characterized by a decrease in the function of the prefrontal cortex – part of the brain responsible for higher cognitive processes (including judgment and justification). This leads to an increase in the impulsiveness of a tipsy person.
Impaired ability to suppress such impulses and judge situations soberly sometimes results in a person drinking more alcohol than they intended to.
The brain after alcohol: large doses
As the dose of alcohol consumed increases, so does its effect on the brain. The work of the prefrontal cortex slows down even more, as a result of which a person becomes more impulsive, his ability to rationally assess the situation decreases. As a result, the brain after alcohol begins to use more primitive parts more. Result – increased aggressiveness and sexual looseness.
The cerebellum, which coordinates muscle activity, is also susceptible to the negative effects of alcohol. Motor coordination is disturbed as the dose of alcohol consumed increases. This results in a feeling of dizziness, which can lead to nausea and vomiting.
High doses of alcohol also interfere with the communication between parts of the brain that are needed to control life processes such as heartbeat and breathing (the pons is the part of the brainstem that sends signals to the cerebellum). Therefore, an overdose of alcohol leads to complete cessation of breathing and death.
Mood and environment affect how the brain behaves after alcohol
While the pharmacological action of alcohol is of great importance in subjective effects, the influence of the environment in which a person drinks and his psychological state also cannot be underestimated when considering the brain after alcohol.
Alcohol can increase negative emotions, so if you are not in the best mood, alcohol should be avoided. Willpower also plays a decisive role. People show signs of alcohol intoxication even after taking a placebo. When subjects were given a placebo disguised as alcohol during the study, they experienced a characteristic pleasant relaxation and mild sexual arousal.
Also important is the expectation associated with the type of alcoholic beverage consumed. So, if a person knows, for example, that gin increases depression, after drinking this drink they actually feel more depressed.
Add a comment