Health
Excessive alcohol consumption has a negative effect on a person's ability to memorize and remember information, a new study shows.
This research is related to a number of other, earlier studies that have also shown the negative effects of alcohol, especially on adolescents whose brains and bodies are just developing. Previous experiments on rats and monkeys have shown that excessive alcohol consumption damages the hippocampus, the part of the brain that is responsible for memory and learning.
After interviewing a group of students from the University of Chile, the research team selected 122 people to participate in the research. About half of them reported drinking a lot of alcohol, while others reported not drinking. The researchers found that they all had similar academic performance, had never been on drugs and had a normal level of intelligence.
During the experiment, they were asked to complete a task to memorize a list of words. After students went through the list five times, the scientists asked them to repeat what they had memorized, even if the words were out of order. They then had to memorize whole stories and describe the photos they saw.
Scientists found that those who abused alcohol had trouble remembering words and found it harder to recall details from the story they were told. When test results were checked with photos, there was no significant difference in responses between the two groups.
Although it is believed that women are more vulnerable to alcohol, scientists did not find a difference in results between the sexes. Both of them showed the same results in memory tests. The tasks were designed in such a way that it was possible to test people's ability to memorize not only naked facts, but also general ideas. This was the advantage of these studies.
The authors also faced obstacles in their research. It is not yet clear whether excessive drinking impairs declarative memory, or whether drunkenness is a sign of a disease. It is necessary to conduct a number of additional studies to maintain the results obtained.
Severe intoxication is defined by an increase in the level of alcohol in the blood by more than 0.08 grams. To do this, it is enough to drink five servings of alcoholic beverages for men, and four servings for women within 2 hours.