What Alcohol Really Does To Your Brain
Medulla
Automatic functions Alcohol makes you sleepy
Cerebellum
Balance Alcohol makes you clumsy
Alcohol affects brain by affecting neurotransmitters:
Chemical messengers that send signals throughout body. 2 neurotransmitters: excitatory and inhibitory
Inhibitory neurotransmitter
GABA Reduce energy levels, sedation Alcohol increases GABA and inhibitory neurotransmitter
Excitatory neurotransmitter
Glutamate Increase brain activity and energy Alcohol suppresses glutamate and excitatory neurotransmitter, sluggish
Hypothalamus and pituitary gland
Increase in sexual urges, but decrease in sexual performance
Alcohol increases dopamine in reward center
Motivates you to keep drinking
Cerebral cortex
thought processing and consciousness Alcohol makes you less inhibited More difficult to think clearly