How Alcohol Impairs the Brain

How Alcohol Impairs the Brain

A new study looks at how alcohol use impairs the control systems of the brain. The researchers have published their finds in the upcoming January 2011 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

According to the study’s lead author, this research is only the tip of the iceberg. The study discovered that certain areas of the brain involved in error processing are affected more by alcohol use than others.

“Alcohol is widely consumed in our society today. We know it alters behavior, but surprisingly it is not well studied at the brain level. Once we understand how it is altering the brain, we can better inform the public of the consequences of drinking alcohol,” said Beth Anderson, a postdoctoral fellow at the Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut.

In the study, 38 subjects were given different doses of alcohol designed to get a breath alcohol concentration of zero for the control group, 0.5 percent for moderate intoxification, or 0.1 percent for a high level of alcohol in the system. Once the alcohol had caused intoxification, the subjects id a Go/No-Go reaction test. In the test, either the letters “K” or “X” were displayed on a screen and the study subjects were given directions to press a button when they saw an “X” on the screen. After receiving the highest dose of alcohol, the volunteers were observed having a increased reaction time, more errors and an overall decrease of successful trials.

“The increased reaction time was likely an attempt to compensate for their impairment. They may have slowed down in an attempt to keep from making more errors,” said Anderson.