Drinking alcohol in excess causes brain damage in young people

• April 20, 2024

Drinking alcohol in excess is considered when a person consumes four or more drinks in women and five or more among men in a course of 4 hours. It is important to emphasize that the type of alcoholic beverage does not matter, since when it is consumed in excess damage They are equal.

An investigation of scientists from the University of Cincinnati, showed that too much alcohol It can damage neurons in brains that are still growing.

The relevance of this study lies in the fact that around 42% of young Americans between the ages of 18 and 25 have drunk in excess more than once. Since the brain It is still developing, the excessive consumption of this product could be interacting with development factors and possibly altering the ways in which it is growing.

The researchers used high-resolution scanners to study over a weekend, the brains of 29 people who drank excessively. The team found changes in the pre-frontal cortex , part that governs attention, planning, decision making and the processing of emotions and that controls the impulses that provoke irrational behavior. The authors also studied the Gray matter brain, which is involved in thinking and transmitting messages, but it is believed that alcohol could affect this matter in a different way than white . He concluded that the more frequent the excessive consumption of alcohol, more severe is brain damage .

Drinkers can protect themselves by moderating their consumption. The study also showed that brains damaged by alcohol show signs of Recovery after a period of abstinence; what sustains the high capacity of adaptation of this organ.

Video Medicine: Alcohol & Substance Abuse : Does Drinking Alcohol Stunt Your Growth? (April 2024).