Read 59 times since Monday, August 01, 2011
Alcohol is the second most consumed drink in America; there is almost an alcohol fridge in every convenient store and gas station from coast to coast. The alcohol industry makes hundreds of billions of dollars annually.
Alcohol when consumed causes feelings of euphoria. To understand the impact it has on the brain first we must look at the how the brain functions.
The brain is the control center of our bodies and is made of tons of neurons. Neurons are the wiring throughout the brain that send and receive information.
There are two types of neurons excitatory and inhibitory: excitatory neurons are used when we perform actions. Inhibitory neurons are used to prevent action.
Some cases of malfunctioning inhibitors include Parkinson's disease and Tourette's syndrome. In both cases the inhibitory nerves are not sending the proper message to stop the person from either shaking or swearing.
When we drink alcohol our inhibitory nerves are overly excited, thus rendering us in a sluggish and lazy condition. Alcohol also weakens some of the excitatory neurons further increasing lazy and sluggish feelings.
When our inhibitory and excitatory nerves are affected, it causes us to act out in a manner that we would not normally or soberly behave in. This can result in immediate poor decisions and later in regret.
Being that alcohol directly affects our brains neurotransmitters and that our brains are the control centers of our bodies, alcohol use can obviously lead to some mal-beneficial circumstance.
Our brains control everything from thoughts and actions, to senses and memories. The limbic system: the part of the brain that is responsible for memory is greatly shot when alcohol is consumed.
Prolonged alcohol consumption can lead to some serious memory related disorders. Alcohol is widely used for a cleaning agent or a sterilizer; just imagine the alcohol sterilizing your brain effectively washing away all memories.
The brain also controls balance, when we drink our cerebellum is affected strongly as well. As the signal is sent from the cerebellum through the medulla the alcohol is causing it to lose its course.
This will similarly affect your balance. Drinking large amounts of alcohol can lead to accidental falls, and accidental falls could lead to other injuries.
The hypothalamus in the brain also works by sending signals through the medulla. These signals control hormonal release.
The resulting affect is a strong desire to copulate and when mixed with lack of inhibitions it can lead to some serious mistakes. However, while sexual desire increases sexual performance decreases.
The medulla controls parts of the body that are automatic like heart rate and breathing. Increased consumption can actually be fatal in cases. Destry Masterson is a health and nutrition expert. She publishes articles for http://www.foodinsurance.com and recommends them for food storage.
Contact Info:
Destry Masterson - MyOnlineArticleWriting@gmail.com - Twitter: @DestryMasterson
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