Binge Drinking, Blackouts and College Students
Is Blacking Out From Drinking Harmful to Students' Brains?
Aug 25, 2009
Binge drinking is defined by the National Institute of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse as a "pattern of drinking alcohol that brings blood alcohol concentration to 0.08% or above". This usually corresponds to consuming five or more drinks for men; four or more for women in two hours or less.
In 1995, researcher D.W. Goodwin identified blackouts as periods of amnesia during which people actively engage in all types of behavior – talking, laughing, driving, having sex, etc. People are conscious but the brain is not forming memories. There are actually two types of blackouts: Total, also called En Bloc, and partial, called Fragmentary.
The Uncertainty of Blackouts
There is quite a bit of research about blackouts and the brain, but for all that is known there is still is much that remains a mystery. For example, not all college students who drink excessively will experience a blackout. There are other students who may drink excessive amounts of alcohol and black out at times, and at other times drink the same amount and not black out.
In a paper by Aaron M. White, Ph.D., he cites research by Goodwin and his colleagues that has shown blackouts are more likely to occur when drinking on an empty stomach, or drinking quickly (gulping drinks). Blackouts, of course, increase the risk of harm. During blackouts students report sexual assaults, participating in risky sexual behaviors, and doing things that when sober, they would never do.
The Brain and Blackouts
Located deep within the brain is the Hippocampus which is involved in forming and storing both long and short term memories. The process of how alcohol interferes with the normal functioning of the Hippocampus involves neurons, cells and receptors and is much too complicated for this article. The end result, however, is students' short term memory does not transfer into long term memory.
Since students cannot recall all or part of when they were drinking, blackouts can be both embarrassing and frightening as friends, medical personnel or police describe behaviors that students cannot recall. Once the incident has passed, most students, however, are not concerned about their future brain functioning.
It seems that there is little research connected with repeated blackouts and brain functioning. So, students who participate in binge drinking and experience multiple blackouts may or may not be at risk for future problems with their memory formation and storage.
Blackouts caused by the consumption of alcohol do impact the brain, and students who binge drink, drink on empty stomachs, or drink quickly are more at risk to blackout. The long term effects of blacking out are not clear. However it is important for students who are blacking out to realize that it does interfere with normal brain functioning. Students will have to decide drinking excessively is worth the risk.
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