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Module 1.3b

death ( Kendler et al., 2016 ; Mackey et al., 2019 ; WHO, 2018b ; Figure 1.3-7 ) .
Girls and young women (who have less of a stomach enzyme that digests
alcohol) can become addicted to alcohol more quickly than boys and young ENGAGE 1.3-6
men do, and they are at risk for lung, brain, and liver damage at lower con- Daniel Hommer, NIAAA, NIH, HHS
sumption levels ( CASA, 2003 ). With increased heavy drinking among women, (Out of class) The text describes
these gender differences can have life-or-death consequences: Between 2001 some gender differences in the impact
and 2017, Canadian women’s risk for alcohol-related death increased at five Scan of woman with Scan of woman without of alcohol consumption. Ask students
times the rate for men ( Tam, 2018 ). alcohol use disorder alcohol use disorder
(a) (b) whether there should be different
Slowed Neural Processing Alcohol slows sympathetic nervous system blood alcohol limits for men and
activity. Larger doses cause reactions to slow, speech to slur, and skilled performance to dete-
riorate. Alcohol is a potent sedative, especially when paired with sleep deprivation. Add these Figure 1.3-7 women, considering how the drug
physical effects to lowered inhibitions, and the result can be deadly. As blood-alcohol levels rise Disordered drinking affects each gender differently. Use
shrinks the brain
and judgment falters, people’s qualms about drinking and driving lessen. When drunk, people MRI scans show brain shrinkage Student Activity: Blood Alcohol Con-
aren’t aware of how drunk they are ( Moore et al., 2016 ). Almost all drinkers insist when sober in women with alcohol use
that they would not drive under the influence later. Yet, in experiments, the majority of intox- disorder (a) compared with centrations to help students under-
icated participants decided to drink and drive ( MacDonald et al., 1995 ; Ouimet et al., 2020 ). women in a control group (b). stand the physical effects of different
Unaware of their intoxication, people may think they can drive safely even when they can’t. levels of alcohol.
Alcohol can also be life threatening when heavy drinking suppresses the gag reflex.
Usually, vomiting releases toxins. When people drink heavily, however, they may inadver-
tently poison themselves with an overdose that their body would normally throw up. M1.3b: Blood Alcohol
Distributed by Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers. Not for redistribution.
Concentrations
Drinking disaster demo
Firefighters reenacted the trauma
of an alcohol-related car accident,
providing a memorable demonstration
Copyright © Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers.
for these high school students. Alcohol CONNECT 1.3-6
consumption leads to feelings of
invincibility, which become especially
dangerous behind the wheel of a car. Tell students that alcohol has been
shown to affect the hippocampus
(discussed in Module 1.4b), the area of
the brain that is responsible for form-
ing new memories. This effect helps
explain why people who drink heavily
can lose memories of the time period
during which they were intoxicated.
tolerance the diminishing
Lon Clark Diehl effect with regular use of the
same dose of a drug, requiring
the user to take larger and larger
doses before experiencing the TEACH 1.3-6
Memory Disruption Alcohol can disrupt memory formation, and heavy drinking can drug’s effect.
have long-term effects on the brain and cognition. In rats, at a developmental period corre- addiction an everyday term for Enrichment
sponding to human adolescence, binge drinking contributes to nerve cell death and reduces compulsive substance use (and
the birth of new nerve cells. It also impairs the growth of synaptic connections ( Crews et al. , sometimes for dysfunctional Tell your students that laudanum was
,
2006 2007 ). In humans, heavy drinking may lead to blackouts, in which drinkers continue to behavior patterns, such as a medicine commonly used in the
interact but are unable to later recall people they met or what they said or did while intox- out-of-control gambling)
that continue despite harmful
icated. These blackouts result partly from the way alcohol suppresses rapid eye movement consequences. (See also Victorian era to treat a variety of ail-
(REM) sleep, which helps store the day’s experiences into permanent memories. substance use disorder.) ments. Most successfully, it was used
withdrawal the discomfort and as a painkiller and cough suppressant.
Reduced Self-Awareness In one experiment, those who consumed alcohol (rather distress that follow discontinuing
than a placebo beverage) were doubly likely to be caught mind-wandering during a an addictive drug or behavior. Mothers often used it to soothe their
reading task, yet were less likely to notice that they zoned out ( Sayette et al., 2009 ).
fussy babies. Explain that laudanum
The Neuron and Neural Firing: Substance Use Disorders and Psychoactive Drugs Module 1.3b 43 was so effective because it was a
special mixture of alcohol and opium.
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The Neuron and Neural Firing: Substance Use Disorders and Psychoactive Drugs Module 1.3b 43

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