Drinking and the Brain: Current Evidence

There is no question, as accumulating evidence reveals, that alcohol in excess negatively affects the brain and neuropsychological functioning, both immediately and in the long-term. The important question for social drinkers, however, is whether moderate amounts of alcohol can have deleterious effects on the brain or performance in either the medium- or long-term. It has been proposed that there is a continuum of negative consequences with light drinkers at one end and chronic alcoholics at the other end. Three levels of study of this hypothesis are distinguished; behavioural, structural, and cellular. Research into effects at these three levels is reviewed both for alcoholics and for social drinkers. A further hypothesis relates to the possibility that cognitive functioning is impaired even after blood alcohol concentration has returned to zero. It is concluded that while neither the continuity hypothesis nor a 'hangover' hypothesis is supported by current evidence, considerably more research is needed.