Alcohol and Short Term Memory

[Mmm Rrr]

I have a neighborhood pub that I frequent a couple of times a week and have gotten to know some of the regulars. One of them, "Alan", has been friendly and we have done a few things together away from the pub.

Several weeks ago, I joined him at the bar and we had a conversation, made a tentative plan for lunch the next week. Usually he will text me later with the specifics of where we'll meet. I didn't hear from him and didn't think much of it.

The next week, I joined him at the bar and we had nearly the identical extended conversation (including his asking the same questions and me giving the same answers), ending with the same tentative plan. Again no followup.

This week I saw him and he was friendly and talkative as always, but no mention of our previous conversations. He's in his early 70's and going through some health issues, but he seems fine mentally. He does drink copiously, but only occasionally to the point where he seems impaired.

I did a little research on the internet and found an interesting phenomenon, where drinking (even if not to the point of intoxication) prevents the formation of short term memories. Anyone heard of this or experienced it?

 

[Carpediem]

Just curious, was wine included in those research results?

 

[Aerides]

Yes, it's sometimes confused with blacking out. One doesn't actually pass out drunk, but at some point the brain becomes too intoxicated to make memories.

A "normal" drunk might forget stuff, but then, when prodded, will remember.

Your friend sounds like he might be a high functioning alcoholic, outward appearances can be deceiving on someone with a lot of practice. Or it could be the onset of some dementia given his age, or a combination of all of the above?

 

[Spudd]

Alcohol-related dementia is also a thing. My FIL most likely has it.

https://americanaddictioncenters.org/alcoholism-treatment/links-between-alcohol-and-dementia

 

[Mmm Rrr]

Just curious, was wine included in those research results?

Yes, any alcohol, it seems to have something to do with the speed with which you consume it too. So even if you only had 2 glasses of wine, if you gulp them down it could happen! The articles I read said it usually occurs with hard alcohol, just because it is "easier" to drink it quickly.

 

[W2R]

I have an untested hypothesis with absolutely ZERO confirmation of its validity from anywhere. If anybody has ever done a scientific study on this I don't know about it. But anyway, here goes....

This guy is 70 years old. My hypothesis is that once a person is in his/her 40's, as the years continue to pass they are more and more easily affected by alcohol or drugs than previously. In other words, even if they don't drink any more than they ever did, and even if their behavior while drinking remains the same as it always was, actually they get drunker than they used to get. This gets worse over time IMO.

So even if this guy isn't drinking much, my hypothesis is that he may be drunker than you think.

 

[gcgang]

Erg, wha wassah question?

 

[Elbata]

I have an untested hypothesis with absolutely ZERO confirmation of its validity from anywhere. If anybody has ever done a scientific study on this I don't know about it. But anyway, here goes....

This guy is 70 years old. My hypothesis is that once a person is in his/her 40's, as the years continue to pass they are more and more easily affected by alcohol or drugs than previously. In other words, even if they don't drink any more than they ever did, and even if their behavior while drinking remains the same as it always was, actually they get drunker than they used to get. This gets worse over time IMO.

So even if this guy isn't drinking much, my hypothesis is that he may be drunker than you think.

Makes sense to me. As I got older while drinking, I felt I just wasn't strong enough to recover and the downtime lasted longer.

A friend comes to visit (golfing buddy) and he drinks from morning till bedtime. And rinse and repeat every day he's here. His voice is shot, my guess the damage done to his esophagus, but I'm amazed how he's able to keep it up. He tells me he doesn't drink like this when at his house. I told him, "Of course, you'd be dead by now". To me, it takes a strong constitution to put his body through the continual excessive drinking.

 

[Sunset]

Makes sense to me. As I got older while drinking, I felt I just wasn't strong enough to recover and the downtime lasted longer.

A friend comes to visit (golfing buddy) and he drinks from morning till bedtime. And rinse and repeat every day he's here. His voice is shot, my guess the damage done to his esophagus, but I'm amazed how he's able to keep it up. He tells me he doesn't drink like this when at his house. I told him, "Of course, you'd be dead by now". To me, it takes a strong constitution to put his body through the continual excessive drinking.

I knew a guy like that, would start drinking for breakfast, a funny likable guy. So sad he later died of his alcoholism at a young age, bleeding out of all sorts of places..

He also lied about how much he drank.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Psychologist and writer Oliver Sacks wrote about alcohol-induced Korsakoff syndrome in his essay "The Lost Mariner," a case study of memory loss in the book "The Man Who mistook his Wife for a Hat." https://sites.google.com/site/neurobiologyreadings/OliverSacks_ManMistookWifeForHat/02-the-lost-mariner

 

[Mmm Rrr]

Thanks for your replies. I feel naive about my reaction to his forgetfulness!

Even though he never seems intoxicated, I guess I kind of had a feeling he must be drinking too much. I changed my usual consumption from a pint to a half a pint and assured my DS I wouldn't be in a car with him at the wheel.

 

[Cut-Throat]

I have a neighborhood pub that I frequent a couple of times a week and have gotten to know some of the regulars. One of them, "Alan", has been friendly and we have done a few things together away from the pub.

Several weeks ago, I joined him at the bar and we had a conversation, made a tentative plan for lunch the next week. Usually he will text me later with the specifics of where we'll meet. I didn't hear from him and didn't think much of it.

The next week, I joined him at the bar and we had nearly the identical extended conversation (including his asking the same questions and me giving the same answers), ending with the same tentative plan. Again no followup.

This week I saw him and he was friendly and talkative as always, but no mention of our previous conversations. He's in his early 70's and going through some health issues, but he seems fine mentally. He does drink copiously, but only occasionally to the point where he seems impaired.

I did a little research on the internet and found an interesting phenomenon, where drinking (even if not to the point of intoxication) prevents the formation of short term memories. Anyone heard of this or experienced it?

I have seen people in their 70s, that were losing a lot of their short term memory and didn't drink at all... Dementia doesn't care whether you drink or not, and is more common than most people think.

 

[sengsational]

In the guy's defense, I've often thought things were a great idea while sitting at the bar, but the next day seemed quite absurd. Maybe the next day he wrote the whole thing off as the drunken ramblings of a 70 year old should not be taken seriously.

 

[Koogie]

"some drink to remember, some drink to forget.."

 

[Cut-Throat]

"some drink to remember, some drink to forget.."

Clearly the Best post of this thread!

 

[ls99]

Yesterday had one beer. Can't remember the particular reason. But the scenery was nice.


Edit add: Oh yeah, I am over 70.

 

[frayne]

Any thoughts about people who smoked copious amount of marijuana when they were young being forgetful or repeating themselves, asking for a friend. Any thoughts about people who smoked copious amount of marijuana when they were young being forgetful or repeating themselves, asking for a friend. Any thoughts about people who smoked copious amount of marijuana when they were young being forgetful or repeating themselves, asking for a friend. Any thoughts about people who smoked copious amount of marijuana when they were young being forgetful or repeating themselves, asking for a friend.

 

[Bir48die]

Any thoughts about people who smoked copious amount of marijuana when they were young being forgetful or repeating themselves, asking for a friend. Any thoughts about people who smoked copious amount of marijuana when they were young being forgetful or repeating themselves, asking for a friend. Any thoughts about people who smoked copious amount of marijuana when they were young being forgetful or repeating themselves, asking for a friend. Any thoughts about people who smoked copious amount of marijuana when they were young being forgetful or repeating themselves, asking for a friend.

I resembled that! Wait, I forgot what you just said.

 

[frayne]

Serious question, does one have a finite number of brain cells or does the body shed the older worn out ones and regenerate new ones. I'm sure there are any number of reasons for memory loss, dementia, etc. but aging does seem to be one common denominator in the equation. Besides substance abuse it seem like heredity is also a key indicator of who may be losing their minds at earlier ages.

 

[WestUniversity]

Just curious, was wine included in those research results?

LOL! I almost blew my coffee through my nose!

 

[Amethyst]

I've read here and there that human nerve cells are capable of regenerating in certain cases. What I've mostly read, though, is that the brain, which starts out with many more cells than needed, simply redirects lost function (as with stroke) to another set of cells that "relearn" it.

With aging, disease, or damage due to stroke, alcoholism, etc., it's probably like any other living cells: it may try to regenerate, but the damage goes on faster than the regeneration process can keep up with.

Serious question, does one have a finite number of brain cells or does the body shed the older worn out ones and regenerate new ones. I'm sure there are any number of reasons for memory loss, dementia, etc. but aging does seem to be one common denominator in the equation. Besides substance abuse it seem like heredity is also a key indicator of who may be losing their minds at earlier ages.

 

[gamboolman]

mmmmrrrrrr... ha
Ecclesiastes 3 comes to mind.......

Depending on where you are physically at, and the stage of life your experiencing - all I can say is that there is some evenings I want to get shiite faced....

Thank God ms gamboolgal understands me and does not listen to me when I have been deep into the Dirty Bird.... as I will not remember anything I said....

Pro Tip - have your better half lock up the credit card and disable the router so you can't get on the internet...if you have been into the

Ask me how I know this.......as we have tens of thousands of dollars of Bussey knives and some nice high tech redneck equipment for shooting hawgs at night, etc., that I probably would not have ordered in the light of day.....just sayin....
gamboolman...
Lifes A Dance And You Learn As You Go

 

[frayne]

Kind of a timely article.https://www.forbes.com/sites/aliceg...AoDL0TzDheAyVXUGCQKMzdGy4R4Egoxs#1c0cfb1a63c9