Meet the Molecules
What is ethanol?
This is the specific chemical name for the type of alcohol found in drinks.
What are neurons?
These are the specialized messenger cells that make up your entire nervous system.
What is the cerebellum?
If a person stumbles or loses their balance while walking under the influence, alcohol has hit this back part of the brain.
What is blurred vision?
This immediate, short-term visual effect makes it difficult for a person's eyes to focus on a single point.
What is Fiction? (Only time can sober someone up).
Drinking a massive mug of black coffee or taking a freezing shower will sober someone up instantly.
What is a depressant?
Because it slows down the central nervous system, alcohol is classified as this type of drug.
What is the Central Nervous System?
The Brain and the Spinal Cord together make up this main system, abbreviated as the SNC or CNS.
What is the hippocampus?
This memory center gets temporarily "turned off" during a heavy drinking blackout, preventing new memories from saving.
What is slowed reaction time?
This dangerous short-term effect dramatically delays how fast you can hit the brakes or catch a falling object.
What is Fact?
A teenager's developing brain is much more vulnerable to alcohol damage than a fully grown adult brain.
What is the liver?
This vital organ acts as the body's filter, breaking down alcohol to clear it from your bloodstream.
What is a synapse?
This is the tiny gap or "handshake zone" between two neurons where messages get passed along.
What is the cerebral cortex?
This outer layer of the brain handles decision-making and logic; it's one of the very first areas knocked offline by alcohol.
What is alcoholism?
This is a chronic, long-term disease characterized by a physical and psychological dependency on alcohol.
What is Fiction? (This is a medical emergency; they could choke or stop breathing).
If a friend passes out from drinking, the safest thing to do is leave them alone in a dark room to sleep it off.
What is the bloodstream?
This is the network of highways alcohol uses to travel from your stomach straight to your brain within minutes.
What are neurotransmissores?
Alcohol disrupts your brain because it interferes with these chemical messengers, like dopamine or serotonin.
What is the medulla oblongata? (or brain stem).
This deep brain structure controls automatic survival functions like breathing; freezing it with too much alcohol causes a coma
What is the ability to learn? (or long-term memory).
Because a teenager's brain is still building connections, long-term drinking permanently damages this specific school-related skill.
What is time?
This is the only real factor that can reduce the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in a person's body.
What is one ounce? (or half a drink).
It's the maximum amount of alcohol your liver can safely process in an hour amounting to roughly less than one standard drink.
What is GABA?
Alcohol boosts this specific calming neurotransmitter, making your brain reactions sluggish and sleepy.
What is the limbic system?
This part of the brain controls your primitive emotions and impulses, which flare up unchecked when the rational cortex is asleep.
What is cirrhosis?
This is the severe, irreversible scarring of liver tissue caused by continuous, long-term alcohol abuse.
What is inhibitions?
People mistakenly think alcohol is an "initializer" or stimulant because it shuts down this psychological filter first, making them loud.