Alcohol Shrinks the Brain, but What Does That Mean? (E69)

Listen on your favourite podcasting app: Apple Spotify Other Apps

Gill discusses how alcohol shrinks the brain and what that actually means. She explains how alcohol shrinks the brain, how this impacts our cognitive function, and how the brain recovers with sobriety. You’ll learn about some genetic factors that make us more vulnerable to abusing alcohol and what happens when alcohol causes permanent brain damage.

What to listen to next:

E26: Does the Brain Recover?
E17: Alcohol and the Heart
E11: Endorphins and Opioid Receptors

---

Sources

1. American Academy of Neurology. "Drinking Heavy Amounts Of Alcohol Shrinks Your Brain." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 May 2007

2. Rao T. Alcohol and your brain: study finds even moderate drinking is damaging. The Conversation. 2020. 

3. Immonen, S., Launes, J., Järvinen, I. et al. Moderate alcohol use is associated with decreased brain volume in early middle age in both sexes. Sci Rep 10, 13998 (2020). 

4. Washington University. Does Drinking Alcohol Literally Shrink the Brain? SciTechDaily. 2019.

5. Baranger DAA, Demers CH, Elsayed NM, et al. Convergent Evidence for Predispositional Effects of Brain Gray Matter Volume on Alcohol Consumption. Biological Psychiatry. 2020;87(7):645-655. 

6. Alcohol-related brain damage (ARBD): what is it and who gets it? Alzheimer’s Society. 2021. 

7. Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome. Alzheimer’s Society. 2013. 

8. T, Buddy. Causes of Brain Shrinkage in Alcoholics. Verywell Mind. 2020.

Cite this episode

Tietz, G. Episode 69: Alcohol Shrinks the Brain, but What Does That Mean? Sober Powered. 2021.

Weekly Sober Tips

Enter your email to begin receiving weekly sober tips and info from me!

First name

Email address

What are you interested in hearing about?

Sober Group Coaching

Anger Management Groups

Emotional Eating Groups

Let's Go!

Thank you for subscribing!