Brain inactivity makes threats look friendly when drunk

William Atkins
Wednesday, 30 April 2008 21:26

Science - Health

According to a NIAAA study, subjects in an inebriated state were found to do “dumb stuff” because the parts of the brain that recognize dangers is less active—making perceived threats look less dangerous.

The study is the first of its kind to associate alcohol intake and brain threat assessment.

 Researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, United States), a part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans to analyze the brain while studying twelve social drinkers—seven of them females and five males.

Some of the subjects were provided alcohol through intravenous (IV) injection, while others were given a control placebo.

The researchres kept track of the amount of alcohol placed in the subjects’ systems. By the time they had gotten to a level of 0.08 percent of blood alcohol content, the subjects were noticeably feeling the effects of the alcohol, both by themselves and the researchers.

Such a blood alcohol level is considered legally drunk in most places in the United States.

The control group, being given only a placebo, realized quickly they were not being given the beverage being tested on the other subjects.

The results of the study were published in the April 30, 2008 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

What was discovered by the NIAAA researchers? Please turn to the next page.