Effects of Alcohol On the Nervous System
Someone is sitting at a restaurant bar. A waitress walks over handing out free shots, so he takes one. One leads to two, two leads to three, and so on. Before he realizes it, he is talking louder than ever, tripping over his own feet, and causing a scene. Toward the end of the night, he walks into someone’s table, as he is heading out of the restaurant, knocking over their meals. He tries to say something, but all that comes out is mumbling. The next morning, he is feeling dizzy, has a pounding headache, and does not remember anything from the night before. That scenario shows only a few of the side effects alcohol can cause to a person. Alcohol creates a disruption regarding the connection of the brain. The brain controls physical and psychological actions. Many people do not think about the possible outcomes that alcohol can cause to themselves. Most american’s drink occasionally and some frequently.
Alcohol consumption affects the nervous system in many different ways. In a more broad statement, alcohol affects the central nervous system, peripheral nervous system, autonomic nervous system, motor nerves, and sensory nerves. The Public Health Agency notes that, after drinking alcohol, it enters the bloodstream within about 10 minutes. Alcohol affects the brain before any other part of the body. Alcohol causes the brain to start to dull certain parts. Drinking will first impair judgement. Drinking alcohol not only affects many
Alcohol is a major problem faced by many people across the United States. People who use this drug often times do not know of the impacts it has on them and others. This drug can change ones life with just one use. Teens are influenced or peer pressured to try it, which can impact them for the rest of their lives. The choices made while drinking can also have a sizable impact on someone for the rest of their life. Alcohol will impact your brain, impact your body, impact your choices, and impact those around you.
This pattern often encourages people to drink more to keep the buzz going." ( Net Biz Mentor ). When people get like that they usually get a little bolder and want to do normal tasks and routines like driving a motorized vehicle. The effects of alcohol result in poor coordination, slurred speech, double vision, decrease of self-control, lost of consciousness and maybe even death.
Many negative effects come with drinking alcohol. Since teenagers’ brains are not fully developed until they are in their mid 20’s, it is especially dangerous to them. The legal alcohol age should not be eighteen because it harms the teenage brain and body, it has negative (and potentially fatal) effects on school, and it has negative effects on driving.
After alcohol reaches the brain, it numbs the frontal lobe, which has direct control over the judgment, visual perception and decision making skills. Scientists believe this is what makes alcoholics believe they can conquer any task put before them. After drinking a good number of drinks everyday over a long period of time, many things can happen. Cirrhosis of the liver can occur, which means the liver tissues become hardened. Scientists also report that irreversible brain damage can occur before cirrhosis of the liver is even detected. Also, cancer of the liver, mouth, esophagus as well as lungs and pancreatic cancer often occur as a result of alcoholism. Alcohol also has an affect on the mind as well as the body. Alcoholics often report that they feel inferior to people and believe they can do anything. Many people believe that alcohol acts as a "social lubricant." Increased social pleasures, assertiveness talkativeness and even happiness are all expected by many, when they drink in these situations. Alcohol is said to reduce tension and anxiety. This in turn allows drinkers to feel more relaxed and comfortable in social situations. However, this also encourages the drinker to drink more when under more stress.
Ethanol’s primary effect on the central nervous system is as a depressant. Chronic alcohol consumption, the CNS remains chronically depressed. This in turn causes down regulation of inhibitory systems, and up regulation of excitatory systems within the body. If chronic alcohol consumption is abruptly stopped the long term depression of these systems is as well. However, now there is a relative excess in excitatory influences such as norepinephrine, cAMP, glutamate receptors, neuronal calcium channels and NMDA channels and a relative deficiency in inhibitory deficiencies such as GABA. While benzodiazepines are the mainstay of alcohol withdrawal treatment, they act only GABA channels to enhance the inhibitory effects of GABA. Dysfunction
Ethanol is the most commonly abused drug in the United States. When ethanol is ingested in small amounts, it may produce a feeling of euphoria in the body despite the fact that it is a depressant. Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant and it is the central nervous system that is most affected by the affects of alcohol. When ingested, alcohol passes from the stomach into the small intestine, where it is rapidly absorbed into the blood and distributed throughout the body. Because it is distributed so quickly and thoroughly the alcohol can affect the central nervous system even in small concentrations. Even with low concentrations, alcohol reduces inhibitions. As blood alcohol concentration increases, a person's response to stimuli decreases markedly, speech becomes slurred, and he or she becomes unsteady and has trouble walking (“Alcohol and the Human Body”).
Alcohol directly affects brain chemistry by altering levels of neurotransmitters — the chemical messengers that transmit the signals throughout the body that control thought processes, behavior and emotion. Alcohol affects both “excitatory” neurotransmitters and “inhibitory” neurotransmitters.
In Jill Dombrauckas’s (2015) report, she discussed that the Pennsylvania DUI Association made a large amount of researches about alcohol’s effect on body systems. In one research, alcohol affects the central nervous system which means when the individual drink alcohol, the messages that are carried to and from the brain and the body’s muscles can be slowed delivery. For example, the incoming signals from the brain, like the painful sensory that will decrease the injury’s awareness. Also the signals from the brain to the muscles will lead the motor skills becoming insensitive.
Alcohol is a substance that has numerous diverse affects on the body-both positive and negative. Alcohol not only kills brain cells, but when taken in profusion it has almost no constructive affects. Sure it can make one overlook his/her problems, but the consequences of drinking in excess far outweigh the benefits. It is not a crime to get drunk, however alcohol will almost always cause one to conduct them self in a way he or she would not normally behave. For instance, a sober man will not usually drive ninety-five mph down I-95, however, after consuming a good amount of alcohol, his eyesight, judgement, reflexes and abilities are hindered to the point that he feels
Physical and Psychological Alcohol contains blackouts, liver disease, depression, Loss of appetite, behavior change, and physical damage to the brain.
The physical results of drinking alcohol can be life-threatening. Within moments of ingestion, alcohol moves from the blood stream into every part of the body that contains water. (Vasap.state/effects.com November 30) This includes major organs like the brain, lungs, kidneys, and heart. (Vasap.state/effects.com November 30) Alcohol stimulates and agitates, depresses and sedates, produces
http://www.alcoholism.tqn.com/library/weekly/aa022697.htm?pid=2750&cob=home. Whether a crime was committed intentionally or unintentionally has great bearing on the decision of a jury in finding a person guilty of a crime and/or on the judge's choice of punishment. You might have heard of husbands apologizing to their wives the day after they've beaten them. Their apology might sound something like, "I'm so sorry. I did not mean to hurt you, I swear!" Does alcohol have the capability to make a person forget? Can a person be unaware of his surroundings and yet still be able to interact with it? More importantly, can alcohol change a person's personality enough that it would cause him to do things
There are so many impacts that alcohol has on your body-acute effects, short-term effects, and long-term effects. A person’s brain is affected extremely from alcohol. While you are under the influence, cognitive abilities are affected even with the smallest measures of alcohol. Memory cells and those
Although alcohol may give you a feeling of elation and aroused senses due to a lessening of inhibitions during the early stages of alcohol intoxication, alcohol is a depressant. It depresses the central nervous system—leading to slowed reactions, slurred speech, and ultimately, to unconsciousness. Alcohol progressively affects different brain areas. Alcohol first affects the part of the brain that controls inhibitions. When people lose their inhibitions, they may talk more, get rowdy, and do foolish things. After several drinks, they may feel “high,” but really, their nervous system is slowing down.
Effects of alcohol include difficulties making desicoions, and a slow reaction time. However, this is just a portion of the dangerous things alcohol can do to you. Alcohol also affects your liver, nervous system and heart - this happens when ethanol enters your bloodstream. When ethanol enters your bloodstream, it slows you down - increasing your risk of accidents, attacking others - and even pregnancy as you may make extremely unsafe decisions.