Drink Drink Drink (moderately)!!

Over the years we have been scared into thinking that all alcohol will do is hurt us. Many people against alcohol will insist that it will wreak havoc on our body, especially our brains. However, recent studies are beginning to prove otherwise.

A study by Mitchell, Tajuddin, Campbell, Neafsey, and Collins focuses on the effects of ethanol and preconditioning cerebellar cultures specifically with NMDA receptors. The experimental condition in this study is moderate ethanol preconditioning (MEP) of rat brains. First off, NMDA receptor, also known as N- Methyl- D- aspartate, is a prevalent excitatory receptor that uses glutamate in the brain. Over and under activity of NMDA receptors can create detrimental damage to the brain. MEP directly effects NMDA receptor activity, which in turn elevates PKC and FAK activity. PKC was proved to be upstream of FAK when FAK was not affected during the MEP condition and PKC was inhibited. All of this leads to peroxiredoxins that aid in neuron protection!

We can extrapolate that neuroprotection might be achieved with lower levels of ethanol with other agents such as resveratrol, which is in red wine. Resveratrol preconditioning is helpful at 10 micro molar. It was proven that red wine was significantly better at neuroprotection. Collins also noted that the genetic risk of Alzheimer's increased the risk of damage to the brain from alcohol.

An article published in 2014 by Science Daily stated that alcohol can help specifically with adults over 60 maintaining memory retention. None of the people studied had a risk of Alzheimer's. The consumption of a moderate amount of alcohol can be linked to preserving the size of the hippocampus. This means memories are more easily stored and retained. The hippocampus maintains volume by encouraging the growth of new neurons in the hippocampus. Of course it is important to include the fact that we are discussing the moderate consumption of alcohol and excess alcohol, characterized as 5 or more drinks in one night, can have very harmful effects on the brain.

Work Cited

Mitchell, Robert M., Nuzhath Tajuddin, Edward M. Campbell, and Michael A. Collins. "Ethanol Preconditioning of Rat Cerebellar Cultures Targets NMDA Receptors to the Synapse and Enhances Peroxiredoxin 2 Expression." N.p., 2 Sept. 2015. Web. 3 Oct. 2015.

"If You're over 60, Drink Up: Alcohol Associated with Better Memory."ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.

Images

http://www.evineyardapp.com/blog/tag/red-wine-benefits/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-young-and-the-restless/201411/case-the-malleable-memory