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Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

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Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#71

Post by nostrebored »

par wrote: post #70
ra88it wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I think it is quite normal. Alcohol is a cheap, ubiquitous drug that helps us relax today, for a roughly proportionate cost which we can pay tomorrow (plus whatever longer-term costs like liver damage or memory formation which we can ignore or put off for even longer). It's not confusing or unintuitive. Alcohol helps us relax. That's all it does! Which leads to all the other behaviors that are secondary to sudde…

The idea that alcohol helps people relax is actually an old (and incorrect) way of thinking about alcohol. The 'relaxtion' that is felt by alcohol is actually due to its addictiveness, and the cycle it puts you in. By drinking, you are entering a cycle where you crave the next drink, which is why it 'relaxes' you, it is actually just removing the very craving it places in you.

Source? This is completely counter to my experience and everything that I know about alcohol

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#72

Post by par »

vasilipupkin wrote: post #34
minikites wrote: post #30

If alcohol were invented today, I don't think there's any way it would be legal in most nations. The only reason we tolerate it as a society is millennia of inertia.

Geez, lighten up. Yes, some people definitely develop alcohol addiction but about 80% do not and are free to enjoy good quality drinks that not only give you a buzz, but also potentially taste great like good wine or whisky or mezcal.

You'll find that alcohol is a lot like cigarettes. Cigarettes used to be everywhere, even doctors would prescribe cigarettes to their patients. Then people started slowly waking up to the idea that nicotine is a highly addictive and toxic substance. People started looking at cigarettes differently, they stopped putting cigs in movies, and people stopped glamorizing cigarettes in the media. Now we have big warnings on all cigarettes saying how bad they are for you. In some circles it is even uncool to smoke cigs.

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#73

Post by Marsymars »

mirimir wrote: post #44

So does 10 mg zolpidem tartrate. As in, totally prevents memory formation. Gotta be careful with that stuff. And prototypically, marijuana. Back in the day, I'd always see movies stoned. That way, if I liked them, I could see them again freshly. And if I didn't liked them, I could forget about them more easily.

Brain injury can also obliterate memory abilities.

I've had a single moderate concussion, where one of my first memories afterwards is of sitting in the hospital emergency room with a couple friends. I had a notebook with my handwriting, containing several pages of questions/answers that my friends had me write down so they could stop repeating themselves to me.

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#74

Post by Smithalicious »

obstacle1 wrote: post #42
vasilipupkin wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Geez, lighten up. Yes, some people definitely develop alcohol addiction but about 80% do not and are free to enjoy good quality drinks that not only give you a buzz, but also potentially taste great like good wine or whisky or mezcal.

The entire point of this thread is that even small doses of alcohol -- doses well within what we consider to be moderate drinking -- have fairly extreme negative effects on memory. This is a problem even for the 80% of drinkers who do not develop alcohol addiction. As we start to actually study the effects of alcohol, it really looks like it is a hard drug with no net positive effects at anything over a minuscule dos…

"net positive effect" is subjective. Drinking is fun and eases social interactions; I personally value that more than whatever downsides there might be to memory formation.

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#75

Post by par »

nostrebored wrote: post #71
par wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea that alcohol helps people relax is actually an old (and incorrect) way of thinking about alcohol. The 'relaxtion' that is felt by alcohol is actually due to its addictiveness, and the cycle it puts you in. By drinking, you are entering a cycle where you crave the next drink, which is why it 'relaxes' you, it is actually just removing the very craving it places in you.

Source? This is completely counter to my experience and everything that I know about alcohol

Neurogenic studies of alcohol addiction: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2607330/

Could you post a source that shows alcohol relaxes you?

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#76

Post by topmonk »

par wrote: post #70
ra88it wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, I think it is quite normal. Alcohol is a cheap, ubiquitous drug that helps us relax today, for a roughly proportionate cost which we can pay tomorrow (plus whatever longer-term costs like liver damage or memory formation which we can ignore or put off for even longer). It's not confusing or unintuitive. Alcohol helps us relax. That's all it does! Which leads to all the other behaviors that are secondary to sudde…

The idea that alcohol helps people relax is actually an old (and incorrect) way of thinking about alcohol. The 'relaxtion' that is felt by alcohol is actually due to its addictiveness, and the cycle it puts you in. By drinking, you are entering a cycle where you crave the next drink, which is why it 'relaxes' you, it is actually just removing the very craving it places in you.

I think all these theories should be taken with a grain of salt, especially those that talk in universalities. People have many different reactions to alcohol and that changes as they age, their stress level, etc.

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#77

Post by deepGem »

I somehow remember most of my good memories when I was drunk and buzzed. On those few occasions that I had passed out completely, I remember the time till I passed out, like the time I just barely reaching my hotel door, opened and collapsed on the floor.

On the most strenuous hikes or endurance activities that I have undertaken, I have vivid memories of the struggle, like I can remember feeling so thirsty and walking for most of the last 5K. I also remember how foolish was I to play an 18 hole the next day, without using a buggy (talk about male ego). By the time I reached the 18th hole I was about to pass out and collapse.

Nowadays I stay away from alcohol and just restrict myself to a single beer or a glass of wine. It takes me 4-5 pints to get buzzed and leaves me with a terrible headache later. Not a good sign.

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#78

Post by par »

xfitm3 wrote: post #63
mruts wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno man, I used to be addicted to heroin, and the feelings of withdrawel still haunt me. Don’t get me wrong, I had some fun times on the stuff, but whenever I think about it all I remember is the worst and most terrible pain you could ever possibly imagine.

Are you in a program that biases your thoughts towards the negative aspects?

Usually people don't need a program to help them understand why being deep in the grips of addiction is painful and bad.

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#79

Post by ege_erdogan »

xfitm3 wrote: post #64
rconti wrote: post #9

I know everyone is recommending the book Why We Sleep, but I'll pile on and say that I found it to be a fantastic read, and the consequences of alcohol consumption are devastating. Stats like 40+% reduction in retained information from just a few drinks the night after learning new facts. Or the night BEFORE learning new facts. And how the ill consequences occur even if you abstain for several DAYS after learning new…

In this thread you have the sole mention of Why We Sleep. what are you referring to?

It is one of the most recommended books in book recommendation threads.

Re: Just a few drinks can change how memories are formed

#80

Post by mattkrause »

xfitm3 wrote: post #62
FigBug wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I had my arm 90% severed in an industrial accident, judging by the amount of morphine they had me on, I must have been in a lot of pain. But I can't remember the feeling of the pain at all, but I can remember all the things I was doing to try and reduce the pain. Every injury since (broken leg, broken collar bone, dislocated finger) has seemed like the worst pain I've ever experienced, but I know logically it can't b…

You may have been administered midazolam. This drug causes memory loss and is often used in the treatment of bodily trauma. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2735240/

Midazolam isn’t a pain killer. It is used for sedation and anesthesia induction but you’d only get that once and it only lasts for a few hours.
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