Alcohol



Alcohol is one of the most widely and socially accepted drugs. Excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages can cause an incidence called Blackout to occur. Blackouts are similar to amnesia, the condition where one loses part of their memory. A blackout prevents the formation of new memories as the transfer process from short to long is inhibited. Blackouts are different from passing out, where the individual falls unconscious. A blackout is where individual is unable to retain the memory. Impairments to the memory occurs more so in alcoholics, which presents doctors a method of recognising alcoholism.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/629/629/7202183.stm Many social drinkers drink heavily which can cause damaging effects on the body.

However, the of blackouts amongst youthful social drinkers has been overlooked by researchers so this method of recognition may not be so reliable as there strong evidence supporting this. (White 2004) With fragmentary blackouts, in which memories are only partially recalled, it was possible to recall some of memory. These are much more common than en bloc blackouts, which are the complete loss of the memories.