Females can be more susceptible than males to many of the negative consequences of alcohol use, such as nerve damage, as they may begin to see effects from a lower amount of alcohol consumption. Acute (sudden) and gradually progressive memory loss tend to have different causes. To investigate the relationship between alcohol consumption and the incidence of dementia. Although many people recover from blackouts, one episode can be fatal.
The hippocampus plays a significant role in helping people form and maintain memories. When normal nerve activity slows down, short-term memory loss can occur. Considerable evidence suggests that chronic alcohol use damages the frontal lobes and leads to impaired performance of tasks that rely on frontal lobe functioning (Kril and Halliday 1999; Moselhy et al. 2001).
Signs and Symptoms of Alcohol-Related Dementia
Instead, they found that alcohol interfered with receptors in the brain, making them produce steroids that interrupted the learning and memory-building process. But the prospects for successful long-term problem resolution are good for can ptsd cause blackouts people who seek help from appropriate sources. While some research suggests that small amounts of alcohol may have beneficial cardiovascular effects, there is widespread agreement that heavier drinking can lead to health problems.
A heavy drinking binge may even cause a life-threatening coma or death. This is of particular concern when you’re taking certain medications that also depress the brain’s function. If your pattern of drinking results in repeated significant distress and problems functioning in your daily life, you likely have alcohol use disorder.
Symptoms
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS) is a type of dementia linked to heavy alcohol use. It’s possible that a person can prevent this syndrome from getting worse, but they usually must stop drinking and enhance their nutrient intake. If you’re unable to control how much you drink, avoid drinking altogether.