A person who drinks too much alcohol may be able to perform
complicated tasks, such as dancing, carrying on a conversation
or even driving a car, but later have no memory of those
escapades. These periods of amnesia, commonly known as
"blackouts," can last from a few minutes to several hours. Now,
at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis,
neuroscientists have identified the brain cells involved in
blackouts and the molecular mechanism that appears to underlie
them. They report July 6, 2011, in The Journal of Neuroscience,
that exposure to large amounts of alcohol does not necessarily
kill brain cells as once was thought. Rather, alcohol interferes
with key receptors in the brain, which in turn manufacture
steroids that inhibit long-term potentiation (LTP), a process
that strengthens the connections between neurons and is crucial
to learning and memory. Better understanding of what occurs when
memory formation is inhibited by alcohol exposure could lead to
strategies to improve memory. "The mec