The brain cells affected by alcohol are found in the hippocampus and other brain structures involved in advanced cognitive functions. LTP is the synaptic mechanism that underlies memory formation. Just as plastic bends and can be molded into different shapes, synaptic plasticity is a term scientists use to describe the changeable properties of synapses, the sites where nerve cells connect and communicate. Izumi says the various receptors involved in the cascade interfere with synaptic plasticity in the brain’s hippocampus, which is known to be important in cognitive function. We’ve found that exposure to alcohol inhibits some receptors and later activates others, causing neurons to manufacture steroids that inhibit LTP and memory formation.” “An NMDA receptor is like a double-edged sword because too much activity and too little can be toxic. “The mechanism involves NMDA receptors that transmit glutamate, which carries signals between neurons,” says Yukitoshi Izumi, MD, PhD, research professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine in St.
Rather, alcohol interferes with key receptors in the brain, which in turn manufacture steroids that inhibit long-term potentiation (LTP), a process that strengthens the connections between neurons and is crucial to learning and memory.īetter understanding of what occurs when memory formation is inhibited by alcohol exposure could lead to strategies to improve memory. They report July 6, 2011, in The Journal of Neuroscience, that exposure to large amounts of alcohol does not necessarily kill brain cells as once was thought. Louis, neuroscientists have identified the brain cells involved in blackouts and the molecular mechanism that appears to underlie them. Now, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. These periods of amnesia, commonly known as “blackouts,” can last from a few minutes to several hours. Pictured at right, neurons in the same region of the brain that have not been exposed to alcohol./Kazuhiro TokudaĪ person who drinks too much alcohol may be able to perform complicated tasks, such as dancing, carrying on a conversation or even driving a car, but later have no memory of those escapades. When exposed to large amounts of alcohol, neurons in the hippocampus produce steroids (shown in bright green, at left), which inhibit the formation of memory.
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