The damage of alcohol on the brain is far much beyond a headache and brain fog that someone normally experiences in the morning after drinking too much.
Drinking too much can lead to some of the dreaded brain diseases. The long term effect of alcohol can rewire your brain and increase depression and other brain damage conditions. Some of the factors that determine how alcohol affects the brain are; how much and how often an individual drinks alcohol, prenatal alcohol exposure, age when an individual started drinking, age, gender, genetic background, level of education and the general health status.
Once alcohol is in the nervous system it causes alterations in behavior by acting upon specific parts of the brain which are easily affected by chemical modifications. The regions affected by alcohol are mesolimbic pathway, Hippocampus, Hypothalumus, cerebellum and the mygdala.
Alcohol affects the brain chemistry by altering the levels of neurotransmitters within the mentioned regions. Neurotransmitters transmit signals within the central nervous system which extend out throughout the body therefore alterations of the neurotransmitters causes changes in individuals behavior and motor functions.
The neurotoxic effects of alcohol lead to thiamine deficiency and global cell death within a particular vulnerable areas within the brain. This cell death results in a decrease in overall brain volume specifically within the frontal lobe, cerebellum and hippocampus and due to abstinence of alcohol over a period of time may see restoration of cells within the affected areas. Early consumption of alcohol can lead to detrimental effects of excessive alcohol consumption.
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