The Effects Of Alcohol On The Brain-Impairing Judgement

Posted by Laryy Forman on January 13th, 2021

Alcohol is the oldest and most widely used drug in the world. Alcohol is present in most societies, whether it be in the fermented fruits of tribes of hunter-gatherers or the heavily refined spirits of industrialized superpowers. Used in religious ceremonies, social culture, and for individual recreation, alcohol is a fact of life. But how many of its users know the facts about alcohol and its effects on their bodies?

The alcohol present in alcoholic drinks is ethanol, the world's most popular depressant. Ethanol is a psychoactive drug that affects brain function, resulting in short term alterations to behavior, emotion, perception, motor skills and consciousness. Contrary to popular misinformation, alcohol does not kill brain cells, but instead damages the receptive nerve endings called dendrites that bring electrical impulses to the cell, impairing their efficiency. It is this limited efficiency that creates the blurred vision experienced when heavily drunk, as the occipital lobe that controls vision in the brain is unable to process enough glucose to correctly interpret images. The downgraded efficiency of the brain caused by alcohol also creates bad judgement, stupor, a lowering of inhibitions, and a lack of coordination.

Alcohol's effect on the body and brain changes over time, initially with small concentrations stimulating euphoric feelings of relaxation and happiness. With increased consumption relaxation becomes lethargy, stupor, coma, and eventually even death. The result of the consumption of alcohol depends both on the amount taken and the person imbibing it.

Tolerances Vary For Each Individual

Different people have varying levels of alcohol tolerance and so will respond to it accordingly. Tolerance levels can depend on tolerance factors such as how often and how much a person drinks, physiological factors such as sex, age, weight, body fat percentage, as well as external factors such as whether it is taken on a full or empty stomach. This combination of determining factors effectively means that it is impossible to accurately predict your own limitations for consuming alcohol, and caution must be exercised to ensure you do not overindulge.

This variation in bodily responses to alcohol consumption is why many countries use breathalyzers and urine and blood tests to identify blood alcohol content to determine whether someone is driving under the influence of alcohol.

Driving while intoxicated is extremely dangerous because of the effect’s alcohol has on the brain. Starting with a feeling of euphoria and self-confidence with small concentrations of alcohol, increased consumption can lead to a shortening of attention span, slowed reaction speeds, sleepiness, blurred vision, slurred speech, lack of coordination, and confusion. Any and all of these effects, including increased self-confidence, can result in impaired and potentially lethal deficiencies in driving skills and driver judgement. Every year thousands of deaths and injuries from accidents and collisions involving drivers under the influence of alcohol occur because people were ignorant of or chose to ignore the effects alcohol has on a driver.

In Conclusion The Effects Of Alcohol On The Brain

Many states punish drink driving with heavy fines, temporary revocation of driving licenses and, for the worst offences, imprisonment. Perhaps if more people knew the potential effects that alcohol can have on the human brain then they would think twice before endangering their own and others' lives by drink driving. If you find yourself being charged with a Lexington KY DUI, you should hite the best DUI defense lawyer Lexington KY. The best Kentucky DUI Defense attorney is Larry The DUI Forman with Forman & Associates!