Neuroscience Research Australia and UNSW Science researchers studied how alcohol affects the brain’s ability to conduct electricity, essential for normal brain functions like thinking, moving, and remembering.
The study found that alcohol has sedative effects on the brain. It involved 52 healthy social drinkers aged 18-37 from different ethnic backgrounds. The results were published in the Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging.
Using a new MRI technique, researchers studied how alcohol affects brain conductivity in social drinkers. The study, led by Professor Caroline Rae, involved measuring brain activity before and after drinking vodka.
They found that alcohol significantly reduces brain conductivity, especially in the frontal lobe and cerebellum, responsible for decision-making and movement. The drop in conductivity was similar to the difference between someone in their 20s and someone in their 90s.
The study suggests that this MRI technique could be used to measure the effects of other drugs on the brain and help us understand brain activity in conditions like dementia. Professor Rae noted that this is the first time this method has been used to study alcohol’s effects on the brain, offering essential insights.
The research is a big step in understanding alcohol’s impact. It opens up new possibilities for future studies and medical use. The results indicate that brain tissue conductivity might be a marker for brain activity levels, which could be helpful in research and clinical settings.
The study concluded that alcohol significantly reduces brain activity in social drinkers, especially in areas related to decision-making and movement. This research provides important insights into how alcohol affects the brain and suggests that brain conductivity could be a valuable marker for studying the effects of alcohol and other substances.
Journal reference :
- Jun Cao , Iain K. Ball et al., Effect of Ethanol on Brain Electrical Tissue Conductivity in Social Drinkers. Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging. DOI: 10.1002/jmri.29548.
