Alcoholic blackout refers to memory loss on account of excessive alcohol intake. It could be a partial or total blackout where a person recalls some parts of events or conversations or totally forgets what happened in the period of intoxication. In this WellnessKeen article, we will explore the topic in detail.
Call it alcohol blackout or amnesia, it occurs when a person drinks so much that he/she can’t remember anything that happened the night before. This probably occurs because those individuals weigh less and have less body water to dilute the alcohol. When a person drinks well over their limit, it can become a dangerous issue.
Definition
In medical and scientific terms, it refers to impairment of long term memory creation or in a few cases total inability to recollect the past. Needless to say, it is the result of alcohol intake. But with all said and done, such a blackout should not be mistaken for passing out. Passing out merely refers to losing consciousness. In short, it means a memory loss on account of excessive alcohol intake.
Related Facts
Among the facts related to memory loss induced by alcohol, there are different types and causes. There are two types of blackouts namely …
En Bloc
Here, the person cannot remember a single thing which happened in the period when he or she was intoxicated. Even reminding, prompting, or prodding the memory of that individual does not help. In this case, a person’s ability of transferring and imprinting memory from short term to long term storage gets blocked.
Fragmentary
In this case, there is some recollection by the individual of things which happened when in an intoxicated state. You could forget what were you talking about in the middle of a conversation. Such blackouts disturb the memory formation partially during the ‘drunk’ period. There are chances that the individual can recall of what passed, if prompted or reminded.
Possible Causes
The type kind of blackout that occurs to a person depends upon the intake of alcohol. Researches in the concerned area have apparently put forth that it is a result of a rapid rise in a person’s blood-alcohol content or concentration. Rapid consumption was a cause of subjects experiencing blackout, rather than those who had it slowly. Those who had it slowly were totally inebriated, to say the least, but did not suffer memory loss. Alcohol abuse is the main cause of a blackout. There are other factors too, like age and sex. It seems so that men and women metabolize alcohol differently and that is the cause why women are more vulnerable to memory impairment than men.
Blackout-related Brain Damage
Too much consumption over a long period of time and brain damage go hand in hand. Memory loss, slurred speech, blurred vision, problem in walking, slowed reaction times―all are a manifestation of the effects of alcohol on the brain. Some of these things can be repaired with treatment, but regular consumption of heavy amounts of alcohol has the potential to cause irreparable damage to the brain. Of course, there are other factors like since the person started drinking, overall health, heredity, and so on; these play a crucial role in determining the symptoms. All said and done, how exactly does alcohol affect the brain and bring about a blackout has to be researched further.
In the end, we believe this condition should be avoided to prevent further health and brain-related complications. After all, the high is to make you feel good, and not to put you in a miserable state.
Disclaimer: This WellnessKeen article is for informative purposes only, and should not be used as a replacement for expert medical advice.
