Alcohol reaches brain in six minutes

Six minutes is all it takes
The novel study has been conducted by researchers at the Heidelberg University Hospital. It has been discovered that alterations start occurring in the brain cells of people just six minutes after they drink liquor an equivalent to of three glasses of beer or two glasses of wine.

Apart from this, it has also been found that the brains of men and women respond to alcohol consumption in a similar manner.

The damaging effects of alcohol on the brain do not persist for a longer period. But with the passage of time the cells take much longer to mend the harm that has been caused to them.

MRI scanner used for study
For the study purposes, researchers took into account eight male and seven female volunteers. These people were made to consume a definite amount of alcohol with the help of a 90 cm long straw. All this was done while they lied lay in an MRI brain scanner.

The scanner helped scientists determine the minute changes that took take place in the brain cell tissue composition after alcohol was is consumed.

The researchers basically wanted to achieve a blood alcohol content of 0.05 to 0.06 percent. This level of alcohol in the blood makes a person dizzy, and he is not able to drivewhich makes his driving tough. However, it does not induce heavy intoxication.

Alcohol consumption kills healthy cells in brain
Dr Armin Biller, a neurologist at the hospital, said that an increase in the concentration of alcohol leads to a reduction in the chemical substances that actually guard the brain. Many other mechanisms functioning in the brain also get affected as the quantity of alcohol consumed increases.

Dr Biller stated, “Our follow-ups on the next day showed that the shifts in brain, metabolites after moderate consumption of alcohol by healthy persons are completely reversible. However, we assume that the brain’s ability to recover from the effect of alcohol decreases or is eliminated as the consumption of alcohol increases.”

He further added, “The acute effects demonstrated in our study could possibly form the basis for the permanent brain damage that is known to occur in alcoholics. This should be clarified in future studies.”