The Frontal Lobes: The frontal lobes of our brain are responsible for cognition, thought, memory, and judgment. By inhibiting its effects, alcohol impairs nearly every one of these functions.
They include: The Cerebral Cortex: In charge of judgment and reasoning. The Cerebellum: Responsible for balance and coordination. The Hypothalamus: Regulates appetite, temperature, pain, and emotions.
There is evidence that the frontal lobes are particularly vulnerable to alcoholism–related damage, and the brain changes in these areas are most prominent as alcoholics age (Oscar–Berman 2000; Pfefferbaum et al.
When alcohol enters the bloodstream, it also affects the nervous system and brain cells, and cause brain functions to produce more neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine.
It is now widely accepted that alcohol and other addictive drugs act within the mesolimbic dopamine (DA) system of the brain. This system originates in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and projects to various limbic structures, including the nucleus accumbens (NAc), amygdala, and hippocampus.
The Frontal Lobes: The frontal lobes of our brain are responsible for cognition, thought, memory, and judgment. By inhibiting its effects, alcohol impairs nearly every one of these functions. The hippocampus: The hippocampus forms and stores memory. Alcohol's impact on the hippocampus leads to memory loss.
Unexpectedly, these authors also found that alcohol increased amygdala activity to neutral faces, concluding that alcohol may exert its anxiolytic effects by reducing the amygdala's ability to detect threatening information and/or by attenuating amygdala reactivity to threat (Gilman et al. 2008).
Fortunately, this usually only lasts a few days. Stopping alcohol use helps to normalize dopamine and serotonin levels, so patients may feel depressed while in recovery, but this should lift as the brain readjusts to running without alcohol.
Low levels of dopamine can make you feel tired, moody, unmotivated and many other symptoms. Treatments are available for many of the medical conditions linked to low dopamine levels.
Alcohol affects the prefrontal cortex first. This part of the brain is responsible for judgment, reasoning, and suppressing impulsive behavior.
Alcohol affects the part of your brain that controls inhibition, so you may feel relaxed, less anxious, and more confident after a drink. But these effects quickly wear off. The chemical changes in your brain can soon lead to more negative feelings, such as anger, depression or anxiety, regardless of your mood.
Circuitry Also Damaged by Alcohol
Previous MRI studies of the brains of alcoholics found significant volume deficits in the cerebellar hemispheres and vermis, pons, and thalamus as well as the prefrontal, frontal, and parietal cortex.
Heavy drinking in college is associated with accelerated hippocampal/para-hippocampal volume decline. Such risky drinking patterns also seem to be associated with more memory blackouts (episodes of alcohol induced memory loss) and worse memory functioning likely mediated via hippocampal brain volume loss.
Drinking too much can cause side effects specific to each lobe's role, including blurred vision, slurred speech and hearing, and lack of control, respectively. The parietal lobe, which processes sensory information, is also affected. You may have a loss of fine motor skills and a slower reaction time.
Alcohol can stimulate neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus to release corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and arginine vasopressin (AVP). Stress sensed in the amygdala also elicits a similar activation of this stress response pathway.
What are the signs of a lack of serotonin and dopamine? Deficits in serotonin and dopamine can cause a host of signs and symptoms, including depressed mood, fatigue, lack of motivation, decreased sex drive, and difficulty concentrating.
Crystal meth releases more dopamine in the brain compared to any other drug. Dopamine is a brain neurotransmitter that serves a number of functions, including the feeling of pleasure.
Recovery of brain function is certainly possible after abstinence, and will naturally occur in some domains, but complete recovery may be harder in other areas.
The actual duration of alcohol-induced depression can greatly vary. Depressive symptoms that are associated with alcohol-induced depression have been shown to significantly improve after an individual has abstained from alcohol for a certain period. It is typically 3-4 weeks in a variety of cases.
In general, you may start to experience physical benefits such as increased energy, reduced anxiety, and improved liver health. You might also notice positive changes in your personal life, such as improved relationships and more free time for hobbies.
You may notice an inebriated person stumbling, or having difficulty walking straight – this is because the part of your brain that controls coordination, the cerebellum, is very sensitive to alcohol.
Judgment. The mental faculties are the first to be affected by drinking. Alcohol levels as low as . 02% (well under the legal limit in many states) can lessen the capacity to reason, making it difficult to plan ahead or respond appropriately to one's immediate surroundings.
When a person feels stressed or afraid, the amygdala releases stress hormones that prepare the body to fight the threat or flee from the danger. Common emotions that trigger this response include fear, anger, anxiety, and aggression.