Why Drunk People Show No Fear
Posted by Jason on
May 5, 2008
It is clear that alcohol consumption can turn a gentleman into a rude beast. For the first time, a new research study published in The Journal of Neuroscience explains why. Social drinkers intoxicated with alcohol have lowered sensitivity in brain nuclei controlling threat detection, while displaying higher activity in brain nuclei connected to reward.
“The key finding of this study is that after alcohol exposure, threat-detecting brain circuits can’t tell the difference between a threatening and non-threatening social stimulus. At one end of the spectrum, less anxiety might enable us to approach a new person at a party. But at the other end of the spectrum, we may fail to avoid an argument or a fight”, said Dr. Marina Wolf, at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. Read More »
More Alcohol, More than 10 Sex Partners
Posted by Jason on
December 5, 2007
Alcohol is considered by many a sexual stimulant and aphrodisiac. Alcohol “loosens up” a bit, removing inhibitions and making the inter-personal contact a lot easier. Alcohol gives people more (sometimes significantly more) guts to do what they desire, also being less aware of consequences. Frequent bingers engaged in unplanned sexual activity in 41% of the cases compared to just 8% in occasional drinkers and they had unprotected sex in 22% of the cases compared to 4%, as revealed by American studies.
Now a team at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis revealed a direct connection between clinical diagnosis of alcohol dependence in young adults and increased number of sex partners in its research published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. Read More »
