Have you ever had a night out where everyone consumed so much alcohol that everyone was drunk? Maybe it was fun and elating at the start of the night, then quickly turned to drama? One of your friends said something hurtful, and your other friends tried to comfort you by saying, “they didn’t mean that, they are drunk” or “their personality changes after they’ve had alcohol”. These are common statements you might hear when alcohol is involved, the personality of the person changes. In reality, our brain chemistry is being impacted by alcohol, and there is still much to be learned about how.
Alcohol is known as a depressant, however research shows that as you begin to consume alcohol, your BAC (blood alcohol content) is rising. As the night progresses and the drinking starts to slow down, the alcohol acts more as a sedative. This can explain the behaviors at the start of the night where we might be feeling a burst of energy and rowdy, then as the night progresses we feel more fatigue and confusion.
Although there are years of research, there’s still much to be learned in terms of neuroscience impact. One study looked at the brain chemistry and possible linkage between norepinephrine and a major neurotransmitter inhibitor called gamma-Aminobutyric acid, also known as GABA (Banerjee. 2014). Due to alcohol acting as a depressant with similar chemical qualities such as valium, norepinephrine production increases. Norepinephrine affects the GABA receptors, which is responsible for regulating the nervous system (Georgetown Behavioral Hospital, 2021).
The nervous system communicates with our body and controls important functions such as our balance/walking ability, breathing, thinking, our 5 senses, and more (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2018). When this is impaired, our ability to control our motor function slows down and reduces our ability to think and respond to situations quickly, causing those “drunk nights” out.
Another study found through a PET scan that the prefrontal cortex and temporal cortex in the brain showed the greatest decrease in activity. This could conclude an impairment in decision making and rational thought, as the prefrontal cortex is responsible for these processes. Inside the temporal cortex, the hippocampus is responsible for developing new memories. However, with the decrease in activity to this region of the brain as well, this could explain the reason for people not remembering their activities from the night before (Gowin, 2010). We still have much to learn regarding neuroscience and its correlation with alcohol and GABA. Knowledge is power when consuming alcohol. Knowing its impact on brain activity can bring clarity to a lot of the confusion that might come with a long night of it.
Sources:
Banerjee N. (2014). Neurotransmitters in alcoholism: A review of neurobiological and genetic studies. Indian journal of human genetics, 20(1), 20–31. https://doi.org/10.4103/0971-6866.132750
Georgetown Behavioral Hospital. (2021). GABA and alcohol: How drinking leads to anxiety. Retrieved from: https://www.gbhoh.com/gaba-and-alcohol-how-drinking-leads-to-anxiety/
Gowin, J. (2010) Your Brain on Alcohol: Is the conventional wisdom wrong about booze? Psychology Today. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/you-illuminated/201006/your-brain-alcohol#:~:text=Elevated%20levels%20of%20norepinephrine%20increase,ups%20happen%20after%20happy%20hour
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (2018). What are the parts of the nervous system. Retrieved from: https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/neuro/conditioninfo/parts#:~:text=The%20nervous%20system%20has%20two,all%20parts%20of%20the%20body.