By Anastasia Lima-Marques and Kerri Middleton
Binge drinking is defined as drinking until you are intoxicated. Consuming five or more drinks is considered binge drinking.Binge
drinking can also be defined as a pattern of heavy drinking that happens over an extended period. Each person has a different
view on what equals a “binge”, however it is usually seen as someone continuing to consume alcohol well after they are already
intoxicated to a large extent.
The Office of National Statistics states that 37%of men aged between 16-24 consume four pints of alcohol in a typical session,
with 23% of women drinking at least 3. Binge Drinking causes many health problems, including dehydration to the skin,
increased blood pressure and heart rate, liver problems, coordination and can cause brain damage.Each year, roughly 50
students from Universities and Colleges across the nation die from alcohol poisoning, equating to one every weekend.
Alcohol is a depressant of the Central Nervous System that affects many
behavioural, emotional and physical effects as it acts upon the brain.
The first part of the brain to be affected is the Cerebellum. This controls
advanced functions such as recognition, reasoning and emotion.
Judgment, vision, movement and speech are impaired as alcohol levels
rise. The Cerebellum is depressed by alcohol, resulting in coordination,
reflex and balance problems. This explains why most people recognise
these and define someone as drunk when they are visible.
Alcohol moves rapidly to the brain and passes the blood-brain barrier,
which normally keeps destructive substances away from the brain. In
the brain, alcohol affects the neurons, causing judgement and
coordination problems, along with a string of other complications.
The Hippocampus is the part of the brain that controls memory,
learning and emotion. When the Hippocampus is effected after a binge,
this is why people cannot remember what happed the night before.
When alcohol levels reach the mid-brain, your reflexes weaken or
diminish all together, resulting in confusion, stupor or even coma.
When the alcohol has lastly reached the medulla, the inner core of the
brain, heart rate drops and breathing stops, causing death. Alcohol
causes the brain cells to be robbed of water and glucose which is the
brains sustenance. This contributes to a hangover the following day. One
of the permanent effects of alcohol on the brain is the reduction of the
amount of brain tissue the size of the ventricles
Neurotransmitters that promote the generation of a new nerve signal are called
excitatory neurotransmitters and those that prevent the generation of a new nerve signal
are called Inhibitory Neurotransmitters.These are suppressed by heavy amounts of
alcohol. Many neurotransmitters can have both excitatory and inhibitory effects,
depending on which brain region is studied and which receptors are present on the
signal-receiving neurons. Neurotransmitters that often have excitatory effects include
dopamine, glutamate, and serotonin.Neurotransmitters that primarily have inhibitory
effects are GABA and glycine.
Alcohol's effects on the brain are controlled by many neurotransmitters and their highly
complex interactions. In general, the pleasurable psychological experiences regarded
with alcohol consumption appear to be contolled by dopamine, noradrenaline, and the
endogenous opioids and their receptors. Other neurotransmitters commonly affected by
alcohol are Glutamate and GABA. Alcohol increases the activity and effectiveness of
GABA. Since GABA is an inhibitory neurotransmitter, alcohol increases its ability to
inhibit. When alcohol is introduced into this system, its immediate reaction is to add to
the inhibition caused by the GABA. As a result, neurons receiving messages through
GABA are even more inhibited by this transmitter than usual when alcohol is present in
the brain.
GABA and dopamine are also occupied in influencing certain behaviors. Many GABA
neurons for are found in the hippocampus formation, which is a part of brain that is
important in memory and other cognitive functions. Dopamine is found in brain regions
called the Ventral Tegmental area which is a region involved in producing pleasure and
reward. These neurotransmitters are affected by large amounts of alcohol, and play an
important role in the effects binge drinking has upon the brain.
The harm from binge drinking can not only cause brain dysfunction and damage, it
also causes many behavioral changes in teenagers and young adults. Alcohol lowers
the body’s immune system, making it much easier to fall ill. It disturbs sleep patterns,
further depressing the immune system. Alcohol has been linked to an increased risk
of breast cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease,
constipation, and strokes. All these effect your behavior, causing you to become more
stressed, disturbed and depressed. Teenagers and young adults who binge drink
frequently may find that they are more withdraw, quiet and restless.
Binge drinking affects the brain through deprivation of food substances such as
vitamins. This is usually because binge drinkers often neglect their diet, which can
lead to vitamin deficiencies. Thiamine is most commonly missing from a binge
drinkers diet, and this can lead to serious mental disorders. Schizophrenia is an
example of this, symptoms such as hallucinations, suicidal thoughts, the hearing of
“voices” and depression can result.
Binge drinkers also experience mild euphoria and loss of inhibition, as alcohol
impairs regions of the brain controlling behaviour and emotion. Alcohol damages
these areas and induces severe mood swings and emotional outbursts
In conclusion, binge drinking is a harmful and unproductive way of
enjoyment that seriously affects the brain, body and behavioral aspects
of ones self.
The suggestion of no more than one alcoholic drink a day for a woman
and two for men was initially intended to encourage those who drank
more to cut back, not to encourage an increase consumption for those
who drink less or none at all. It seems that young teens can now justify
their binge drinking, almost saying that alcohol is good for them.
It can be said that teenagers and young adults do not have the
intellectual capacity to understand the affects binge drinking has on
the brain. The brain controls how the body functions, so when it is
affected or badly damage, many problems can arise concerning the
Immune system, Central Nervous System and bodily organs. It only
takes one drink to put brain cells out of order, altering mood, cognition,
and motor performance and it may still be a while until teenagers and
young adults get the message on just how damaging binge drinking can
be.
Author Unknown, (2003) “Binge Drinking” {online}, available
from Internet: www.heathcenter.com (Visited 2006,
February 28th)
Briggs, Lynette and Meyer, James (2004) “Alcohol and its
effect” {online}, available from Internet:
www.bingedrinking/effects/brain disorders/psych.html
(Visited 2006, March 1st)
Author Unknown, (1999) “Alcohol Poisoning” {online},
available from Internet:
www.alcoholpoisoninginfomation.com (Visited 2006,
February 28th)
Summers, Cordelia,(2001) “Alcohol Effects on the Brain”
{online}, available from Internet:
www.universityofcolorado/alcohol/psych/brain7339.ht
ml (Visited 2006, March 3rd)