We often hear that alcohol in small doses is not only harmless to health, but also useful. However, such a statement regarding the safety of drinking alcohol false. It turns out that even small doses of ethyl alcohol are considered poison for the brain.
American scientists argue that some publications of certain research works that are designed for a professional audience read by ordinary people may have negative consequences. Therefore, scientists warn that messages that say about the positive effect of alcohol in small doses on the cardiovascular system, as well as the ability of alcohol to prevent the development of diabetes and senile dementia to the category of information that should not be classified as “true”., Since there is an opinion that even in small doses, alcohol leads to a significant decrease in the level of brain substance.
American researchers from the University of Rutgers in the state of New Jersey conducted experiments in which, using laboratory rats, they modeled the situation. In the blood of animals, the level of ethyl alcohol was established, which is allowed in the UK and the USA for drivers of vehicles – 0, 08%. For two weeks, such a concentration was maintained in the animal body, but at the same time it was not constant over the course of each day. Thus, the situation was imitated when a person drank a little in order to relieve stress, for example, after work.
After 14 days from the beginning of the experiment, scientists revealed in animals-covers a deterioration in the formation of new neurons in hippocampus (a special section of the brain), neurogenesis. It is important that this was not manifested in any way, that is, it did not affect the speed of the reaction, coordination and behavior of rodents, which regularly consumed alcohol in small doses to relax. In turn, the lack of neurons soon leads to a deterioration of existing connections between brain cells, which directly affects the memory.
Professor Megan Anderson, the head of this study, noted that small doses of alcohol with regular effects on the brain will lead to a deterioration in memory of memory, as well as that the ability to remember something new will significantly decrease.