The Effects of Drinking & Blacking Out

Blacking out as a result of alcohol consumption is different from the more common act of losing consciousness, or passing out. The effects of a black out episode are similar to a type of amnesia, and characterized by the brain's inability to form memories during the black out period. There are two categories of blackouts. The less common form is known as en masse, which is identified by memory loss during the intoxicated period, though the subject has no trouble recalling events within the most recent few minutes. Fragmentary blackouts are more common and characterized by memory gaps.

Causes

• An alcohol blackout is not necessarily induced dependent only upon the amount of alcohol consumed. According to the National Institutes of Health, the critical factor is not how much alcohol is drunk over a period of time, but rather how quickly it was consumed and if it was on an empty stomach. Blackouts are associated with a rapid rise in blood alcohol content and taking large gulps on an empty stomach results in this state faster than a bout of prolonged drinking.

Brain Damage

• Large amounts of alcohol consumed over long periods of time can lead to changes in the brain which can be classified as brain damage. Often alcoholism is associated with inadequate overall nutrition, specifically a deficiency in thiamine. This essential nutrient is needed by all tissues in the body, but is manifested in the brain by mental confusion, nerve paralysis, and uncoordinated muscle response. The name for short-term alcoholic brain damage is Wernicke's Syndrome, which becomes the longer term Korsakoff Syndrome in about 80 percent of cases.

Anterograde Amnesia

• Alochol-related blackouts are sometimes compared to anterograde amnesia, a condition in which the brain cannot form new memories during the period of intoxication but memories formed before the intoxication event remain untouched. Once the alcohol has worn off, the person should be able to resume normal memory operations but without any recall of events transpiring during the blackout.

Other Effects

• Though the most immediately obvious effects of blackout are related to memory and easily seen in terms of actual brain shrinkage, long term alcoholism begins to affect other body systems as well. Alcohol-induced damage of the liver, heart and nerves, is common, as is peripheral neuropathy. Perhaps due to their smaller size, women typically begin to show these effects earlier than men, given a similar level of consumption.