Shannon Odell: How does alcohol cause blackouts?

How does alcohol cause blackouts?

Alcohol has been shown to have strange and selective effects on the brain. Many intoxicated people can perform complex tasks like holding a detailed conversation or navigating a walk home. Yet for those experiencing a blackout, the memory of these events is quickly forgotten. So, how does alcohol cause these memory lapses? Shannon Odell explores how ethanol interrupts the brain’s processes. [Directed by Anton Bogaty, narrated by Pen-Pen Chen, music by Jarrett Farkas].

Alcohol can create a strange disconnection in the brain, allowing people to perform complex tasks but leaving them unable to remember those moments later. In a vivid 1969 study, half of intoxicated participants forgot seeing a toy just 30 minutes earlier, despite recalling it minutes before. Ethanol disrupts the physical changes in brain cells required for storing memories, especially in the hippocampus. While its short-term effects fade within a day, repeated heavy drinking can cause lasting damage.