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Research shows thatheavy alcohol usecan damage short- and long-term memory and affect brain structure.
Retrospective memory is remembering all events and episodes that have happened in our lifetime.
It is like a delivery truck on a route that gets sidetracked and never makes it to its destination.
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The delivery never made it; a person simply cannot remember things.
These effects are most noticeable when a person isintoxicated.
People who drink heavily on a regular basis can damage a brain structure called thehippocampus.
It is critical to memory and learning, and heavy drinking can cause the hippocampus to shrink.
One brain chemical system particularly susceptible to even small amounts of alcohol is called glutamate.
Future event simulation (FES) is a memory technique involving strategies such as making linked and indexed lists.
A study inPsychopharmacologyin 2016 showed that FES helped people remember event-based tasks, but not time-based tasks.
Abstinence also can help reverse negative effects on thinking skills, including problem solving, memory, and attention.
For more mental health resources, see ourNational Helpline Database.
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.Hangovers.
Alcohol, memory blackouts, and the brain?Alcohol Research & Health.
2003;27(2):186-196.
