What Causes Black-outs When Drunk

Happy St. Patric's Day everyone!  Drinking became popular on St. Patric's Day because churches lifted Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking this day years ago.  Be responsible and don't drink too much because you don't want to become black-out drunk.  Black-out drunk is different then passing out because the individual is still awake and doing things.  But as anyone who has experienced black-out drunkenness knows, you have no idea what you did.  I have never been black-out drunk, but I have known people who have been.  You actually have a higher chance of getting black-out drunk again if blackouts have happened to you before.  Some people's brain chemistry is just prone to having them experience black-outs.

What happens when you black-out?  Its caused by changes in brain chemistry.  Alcohol interferes with glutamate, one of the most abundant neurotransmitters in the brain.  The interference occurs most in the hippocampus which is in the center of the brain and is in charge of spacial memory creation as well as navigation.  When the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate can't excite neurons the neurons create steroids and there is poor or no communication in this area of the brain so it can't do its job.  If it can't do its job memories don't get stored or in the case of brown-outs they don't get stored properly.  Brown-outs are when you can only remember if someone reminds you of the event.  The hippocampus is one of the first areas affected by Alzheimer's so if you know what a black-out is like you have an idea of what it is like to have early stages of Alzheimer's.