Alcohol and its Effects on the Brain
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58445/rars.550Keywords:
alcoholism, effects of alcohol, neuroscience, brainAbstract
Fifteen million people in America today struggle with alcoholism.1 Scientists understand that alcohol affects the way our brain works by damaging our frontal lobe, the part of our brain associated with memory, problem solving, and motor control.1 What scientists are still hypothesizing about is how exactly alcohol damages the frontal lobe, how adolescents are at an increased risk of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) than adults, and how other diseases are linked to alcohol. The aim of this paper is: How does alcohol affect the nervous system on both a short-term and long-term level? The goal of this paper is to study and analyze alcohol’s effects on the brain in order to demonstrate the risks of consuming alcohol. This paper will review current literature on the nervous system, the neurotransmitter Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), alcohol, and the health effects of alcohol on the brain, and from this conclude that alcohol’s risks outweigh its benefits.
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