Is it true that alcohol destroys neurons?

Needless to say, we are not in any way supporting the consumption of alcohol. Alcohol damages almost all the vital organs of our body. But just to put aside this urban legend, alcohol has not killed or killed neurons. Alcohol affects rather the neuronal connections of the cerebellum, an area on which learning and motor coordination depend. But, as can be seen in the autopsies, the brains of abstainers and those addicted to the bottle have the same number of neurons. It's your quality, not the quantity, what you suffer with the drunkenness.

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Where does this myth come from?

The myth that alcohol is killed by brain cells goes back to distant times and, above all, is related to the approval of the 18th Amendment in the United States, when the Temperance movement began to spread the rumor that the consumption of alcohol Alcohol killed our valuable neurons.

Due to the slowness of the movement, the difficulty to speak and simply the clumsiness of the drunks, this rumor was widely accepted as a fact and spread like a wildfire. In fact, it was not until 1993, exactly 60 years after the repeal of the Prohibition Law, that science was finally able to conclude without any doubt that alcohol did not kill neurons. Basically the researchers compared the neurons of alcoholics with non-drinkers and found no notable differences.

According to José Manuel Moltó, member of the Spanish Society of Neurology (SEN), "for decades neuroscientists thought that the number of neurons was stabilized after prenatal and postnatal development and began a slow decline that some things like toxins could exacerbate. In the 1960s we discovered, however, that new neurons are formed in the brain throughout adult life from stem cells. These new neurons are in certain locations and do not replace those that can be lost as a result of an accident or a neurodegenerative disease. However, they are supposed to be essential for processes such as memory.

When alcohol reaches the brain, it deactivates function by damaging the connective tissue at the end of neurons. This interrupts the communication between the neurons and makes it more difficult for an individual to concentrate or complete minor tasks. However, our bodies are incredibly resilient and for the most part 'forgive' the works of nature. This cellular disturbance induced by alcohol causes less damage and definitely does not result in the death of the neuron.

Now, although alcohol does not kill neurons, because to kill any type of cell, we need very high concentrations of alcohol - close to 100% -, and we begin to get drunk from a blood level of 0.1%, yes Kills millions of people every year. Hence, we ask that this article not be seen as an excuse to drink excessively. Like everything in this life, the important thing is moderation.

Alcohol consumption alters the structure and function of neurons in an area of ​​the brain called the dorsomedial striatum, a region of the brain that drives targeted behaviors, and alcohol results in "persistent alterations of neuronal morphology" in this zone.

Modifies the structure of neurons

Studies have determined that alcohol changes the physical structure of medium spiny neurons, the main type of cell in the striatum. These neurons can facilitate or inhibit the performance of specific behaviors due to one of the two types of dopamine receptor: D1 or D2. The periodic consumption of large amounts of alcohol acts on the D1 neurons, which makes them much more excitable and, therefore, activated with less stimulation.

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