How does exposure to alcohol affect the brain - Book Report/Review Example

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This balance is fundamental to the coordination between, and unimpaired function of the brain and the body. Alcohol consumption attacks this balance, because of which, the…

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How does exposure to alcohol affect the brain

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Subject: Psychology
Type: Book Report/Review
Level: Business School
Pages: 1 (250 words)
Downloads: 2
Author: myrna04

Extract of sample "How does exposure to alcohol affect the brain"

17 May How does exposure to alcohol affect the brain? Human brain functions rightly by maintaining a right balance of neurotransmitters (“Alcohol Alert”). This balance is fundamental to the coordination between, and unimpaired function of the brain and the body. Alcohol consumption attacks this balance, because of which, the individual feels drowsiness, and mood changes. Drowsiness after alcohol consumption is the result of slowing down of signal transmission inside the brain. Continued exposure to alcohol causes the brain to change the balance between neurotransmitters so that the brain can function more normally why the individual is drunk.

This change of balance develops tolerance in the individual towards the effects of alcohol, and the individual does not experience the same mood changes he/she used to experience with occasional drinking. To get the same old feeling, the individual increases the quantity of alcohol. This increases the individual’s susceptibility to a lot of health risks that include but are not limited to alcohol dependence and alcohol withdrawal. The individual needs alcohol to be in the right state of mind since the balance of the neurotransmitters in the brain has been changed.

Thus, when a heavy drinker stops consuming alcohol suddenly, he/she experiences the effects of alcohol withdrawal, which include profuse sweating, anxiety, restlessness, and high blood pressure. While others symptoms may recede over time after alcohol withdrawal, anxiety stays with the individual for a long time, and in many cases, leads the individual to alcohol re-lapse. Alcohol withdrawal causes the brain to once again readjust the balance of neurotransmitters, and this change causes all the unpleasant conditions and mood changes associated with alcohol withdrawal.

Works Cited:“Alcohol Alert.” National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. No. 77. April 2009. Web. 17 May 2012. .

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