How badly will binge drinking hurt my intelligence?

[illegallysmooth]

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You're right occasional binge drinking like normal drinking drinking doesn't affect the brain enough to cause long term effects; however, the OP stated in his post it was turning into a habit of every weekend. Wouldn't you agree that-that could cause a problem?

That's not the question at hand. Getting drunk on Saturday isn't what I would call "heavy, chronic drinking."

It could turn into a major depression. Should we start debating the effects of depression on the brain? It could turn into a MARIJUANA problem, and then cocaine, and then ecstacy! OMG. Does anyone have any fMRIs of ecstasy users?

 

[avatarftw]

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[avatarftw]

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[MilkmanAl]

What do the people that win the Rhodes Scholarship do in their free time? They study, exercise, and make a difference in the world. Do they get piss-drunk? Probably not.

Yes, of course. All people who are extremely successful abhor intoxicants and are constantly working to better themselves. That's why when you're in med school, all the post-test gatherings will involve people sipping tea and discussing Chaucer. It also explains why there aren't any physicians hooked on booze or drugs.

They didn't want or like to drink but just did it to fit in. That made me lose a lot of respect for them--do what you want to do and please have a spine for petes sake!

Hmmm...it sounds like they wanted to fit in and therefore wanted to drink. People do lots of harmless things they wouldn't normally to fit in socially. That shouldn't "make you lose a lot of respect for them." You seem to hold some very sheltered views on this subject.

 

[298609]

Yes, of course. All people who are extremely successful abhor intoxicants and are constantly working to better themselves. That's why when you're in med school, all the post-test gatherings will involve people sipping tea and discussing Chaucer. It also explains why there aren't any physicians hooked on booze or drugs.
Hmmm...it sounds like they wanted to fit in and therefore wanted to drink. People do lots of harmless things they wouldn't normally to fit in socially. That shouldn't "make you lose a lot of respect for them." You seem to hold some very sheltered views on this subject.

yes!!!!!! finally, i will be a "cool" kid!!!!!!!!!

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

yes!!!!!! finally, i will be a "cool" kid!!!!!!!!!

 

[Morsetlis]

The thread on binge-drinking expanded to four pages?

 

[Mackey]

If you like staying sober, stay sober.

If you like drinking a beer now and then, enjoy it now and then.

If you like getting smashed, go get smashed.

Getting plastered doesn't make you cool and staying sober doesn't make you intelligent.

 

[Disinence2]

This thread is quite annoying.

My take:

Party on OP

 

[chman]

If you like staying sober, stay sober.

If you like drinking a beer now and then, enjoy it now and then.

If you like getting smashed, go get smashed.

Getting plastered doesn't make you cool and staying sober doesn't make you intelligent.

But staying sober, smashed, and responsible all in the same day; that takes talent.

 

[avatarftw]

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[avatarftw]

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[JoshUNCW]

The preachiness in this thread is sickening.

 

[CarpeDium]

My father, who is a doc, went to see his doc a few weeks ago & on a form he had to fill out one of the questions was "Do you have a drinking problem?" My father asked his doctor what is considered a drinking problem. The doc asked, "Have you ever gotten a DUI?" My father answered, "No." "Does it negatively interfere with your personal life?" "No." "Do you feel you have a drinking problem?" "No." "Well then," the doc said, "you do not have a drinking problem."


Take home message: It's all about the consequences.


Sure, it will have an effect on the body in the long run, but so does tylenol or consuming too much saturated fat & all those processed foods people consume.

 

[anonymousername]

Oh. I hope you're my doctor one day.

no one cares

that is so disturbing. i don't understand how people watch that show, seriously. how do the camera guys just stand and watch people destroy their lives?



👎 🙁

are you sure you know what profession your going into?

 

[CarpeDium]

are you sure you know what profession your going into?

👍

Not only do physicians watch patients destroy their lives, they also have to deal with patients who deny means of help.

 

[chman]

So its fine to do what the crowd does? You just copy other people's behavior even if it is illegal or (in some cases) harmful? My friend didn't like drinking and never did it until he was pressured to do it at a party. He was weak and his lack of resolve or spine made me lose my regard for him.

I don't care if you want to spend your time drinking, I'll just do my activities and we'll both be happy.

A person once told me a great piece of advice, "If you're happy with the results, don't change anything." (that you are doing)

So your friend made the very common mistake of social conformity.

Do you mean to tell me that you have never conformed in a social situation? I would find that a little hard to believe.

 

[MilkmanAl]

So its fine to do what the crowd does? You just copy other people's behavior even if it is illegal or (in some cases) harmful? My friend didn't like drinking and never did it until he was pressured to do it at a party. He was weak and his lack of resolve or spine made me lose my regard for him.

Yeah...that's kind of a ridiculous argument. A little social drinking isn't going to kill your friend. Let's not do the whole "jump off a bridge" scenario, here. We're all intelligent people and know that isn't what's being discussed. Anyway, consider all the things you do to hang out with friends. We all go to see movies we know are going to suck or restaurants we don't like or whatever just because friends are going to be there. Do you also lose respect for people when they see the latest Will Ferrell flick or eat at Applebee's? It's about the interaction and companionship, not what you're doing.

 

[Morsetlis]

^ He's pretty smart for a milkbox.

 

[298609]

are you sure you know what profession your going into?

yes, I am. but thanks for the typical sdn "if you don't like what we said you're never going to handle being a........DOCTOR!"

seriously.

👍

Not only do physicians watch patients destroy their lives, they also have to deal with patients who deny means of help.

I would hope they don't watch patients destroy their lives and deny means of help...as ENTERTAINMENT. on TV.

now, if you're watching "intervention" purely for educational purposes in your training for the health field, it's a little different. most people who watch tv watch it for entertainment. why people would chose to watch something like "intervention" is what my comment pertained to.

 

[amph119]

God I love this forum.

 

[illegallysmooth]

yes, I am. but thanks for the typical sdn "if you don't like what we said you're never going to handle being a........DOCTOR!"

seriously.



I would hope they don't watch patients destroy their lives and deny means of help...as ENTERTAINMENT. on TV.

now, if you're watching "intervention" purely for educational purposes in your training for the health field, it's a little different. most people who watch tv watch it for entertainment. why people would chose to watch something like "intervention" is what my comment pertained to.

The show attempts to examine reasons behind the individual's addiction by interviewing the addict, family members and friends. It helps shed light on the etiologic pathway of addition, and I think viewers probably come to a better understanding of addiction in general. Most of the addicts accept help, and the show does a follow-up to show their progress. It's not like the show aims to poke fun at crackheads for an hour.

 

[298609]

The show attempts to examine reasons behind the individual's addiction by interviewing the addict, family members and friends. It helps shed light on the etiologic pathway of addition, and I think viewers probably come to a better understanding of addiction in general. Most of the addicts accept help, and the show does a follow-up to show their progress. It's not like the show aims to poke fun at crackheads for an hour.

alright, i can see that. i think i am just more old fashioned than many. i don't think a lot of the shows (esp reality) that are being put on the air today should have made it past the editing room. i didn't think it was trying to "poke fun" at the addicts...but i still do think that people watch it more for entertainment (passive) than education. obviously there is no way to test this for the purposes of this thread, which is getting off topic.....so.....

kbye

 

[anonymousername]

yes, I am. but thanks for the typical sdn "if you don't like what we said you're never going to handle being a........DOCTOR!"

seriously.

quit being so naive.

 

[brygguy1]

There is nothings wrong with drinking, don't let the anti-holics tell you otherwise.

Just stay away from hard alcohol. Stick to beer and you can never go wrong (unless you're drinking 30 beers a day for months on end).

 

[elektroshok]

Damn, I have to re-read this whole thread.
I was wasted when I was reading it and can't remember a damn thing....

 

[StormingWynn]

There is nothings wrong with drinking, don't let the anti-holics tell you otherwise.

Just stay away from hard alcohol. Stick to beer and you can never go wrong (unless you're drinking 30 beers a day for months on end).

We've never stated that he should stay away alcohol. He merely asked a question of whether binge drinking would affect his intelligence and from what I can tell the answer is yes. It's his life and I understand that. He can drink all he wishes all I stated was the facts. Nothing more, nothing less. Did I once say he should STOP drinking completely? All I said was that if I were him and I thought it would affect my intelligence then I would. For all I care he could go drink himself to death. Better for me.

 

[JoshUNCW]

We've never stated that he should stay away alcohol. He merely asked a question of whether binge drinking would affect his intelligence and from what I can tell the answer is yes. It's his life and I understand that. He can drink all he wishes all I stated was the facts. Nothing more, nothing less. Did I once say he should STOP. All I said was that if I were him and I thought it would affect my intelligence then I would. For all I care he could go drink himself to death. Better for me.

Uh, what?

 

[StormingWynn]

Uh, what?

I'll let you re-read that sentence one more time. Ok.. I'll check back later. 🙄

 

[bigman225]

We've never stated that he should stay away alcohol. He merely asked a question of whether binge drinking would affect his intelligence and from what I can tell the answer is yes. It's his life and I understand that. He can drink all he wishes all I stated was the facts. Nothing more, nothing less. Did I once say he should STOP drinking completely? All I said was that if I were him and I thought it would affect my intelligence then I would. For all I care he could go drink himself to death. Better for me.

You are not an authoritative source on this subject. Stop acting like it. Someone mentioned Wernicke's encephalopathy, which is actually due to thiamine deficiency. There's no evidence to suggest that getting hammered drunk a few times every term is going to make you less intelligent. Most of the students I stayed with at various top 20 schools openly admitted to partying pretty hard, and I'm glad they weren't as snooty and condescending as many of you sound on this thread.

 

[StormingWynn]

You are not an authoritative source on this subject. Stop acting like it. Someone mentioned Wernicke's encephalopathy, which is actually due to thiamine deficiency. There's no evidence to suggest that getting hammered drunk a few times every term is going to make you less intelligent. Most of the students I stayed with at various top 20 schools openly admitted to partying pretty hard, and I'm glad they weren't as snooty and condescending as many of you sound on this thread.

First, who ever said I was? Did I? No. LOL you seem to act like you know everything.
Second, the OP mentioned that it was becoming a habit. I never argued that a few times will make you less intelligent. I said that making it habitual will. Please reread my post before making one yourself.
Third, Cool story bro. You seem to think that just because they go to TOP schools they are somewhat better than everyone else and that they are the type of friends all of us should aspire to have. No, some of us like to a different set of group.

 

[illegallysmooth]

First, who ever said I was? Did I? No. LOL you seem to act like you know everything.
Second, the OP mentioned that it was becoming a habit. I never argued that a few times will make you less intelligent. I said that making it habitual will. Please reread my post before making one yourself.
Third, Cool story bro. You seem to think that just because they go to TOP schools they are somewhat better than everyone else and that they are the type of friends all of us should aspire to have. No, some of us like to a different set of group.

Just stop. There's so much wrong with everything you say.

 

[StormingWynn]

Just stop. There's so much wrong with everything you say.

Woah woah there.. That's actually quite funny coming from you. Tell me, what did I say in my previous post that was "wrong," according to you. I'd like to find out. Are you just saying that because someone disagrees with you? If so, then you'll have a rude awakening when life rolls around. 😱

 

[StormingWynn]

Seeing as you guys debunked my 2 previous sources then here is a more conclusive and reliable source.

Kokavec & Crowe (1999) Binge: Consume 10 drinks irregularly
(2 days per week)
Nonbinge: Consume 10 alcoholic
drinks/day
Conditions: All subjects diagnosed
alcohol dependent, detoxified, gender/
family history matched, subjects
abstained from alcohol 2 weeks
prior, no smoking data on subjects

Is that long enough of an abstaining period?

results should that participants who participated in binge drinking scored significantly lower in "Logical Memory" test than non-binge drinkers. And from looking at the data more carefully, I see that binge drinkers preformed WORSE than non-binge drinkers who consumed 10 drinks per day. LMAO that's ironic. It's healthier for your brain to drink constantly than it is to drink heavily occasionally.

http://ft.csa.com.ezproxy.jccc.edu/ids70/resolver.php?sessid=ejk6f14sl2gur356erbfp2q7r3&server=csaweb112v.csa.com&check=c4c3519c49d2d00310b7dfdfe5efd20e&db=psycarticles-set-c&key=BUL/135/bul_135_1_142&mode=pdf

 

[swamprat]

alcohol is legal it must be ok 👍

 

[illegallysmooth]

Woah woah there.. That's actually quite funny coming from you. Tell me, what did I say in my previous post that was "wrong," according to you. I'd like to find out. Are you just saying that because someone disagrees with you? If so, then you'll have a rude awakening when life rolls around. 😱

1. You preach about how alcohol is stupid and quote a study

2. You demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of the statistics of said study, mostly in regard to confounding and validity, and don't get why this applies to the article because you only read the abstract.

3. You say you'd rather smoke pot.

4. You say you don't smoke pot and and act like it's perfectly normal to make the above statement if you don't smoke pot.

5. You quote another study that deals with heavy alcoholism and has nothing to do with the OP.

6. You clearly don't understand what bigman was saying regarding drinking and intelligence, nor the difference between being told you're acting like you think you're the authority on a topic and accusing you of actually reporting to be the authority

7. You're telling me I'll have a rude awakening when life rolls around? What do you think this is? Where do you get this crap?

 

[illegallysmooth]

Oh, almost forgot, you just said it would be better for you if some dude drank himself to death.

 

[illegallysmooth]

is it your contention that logical memory = intelligence?

Seeing as you guys debunked my 2 previous sources then here is a more conclusive and reliable source.



Is that long enough of an abstaining period?

results should that participants who participated in binge drinking scored significantly lower in "Logical Memory" test than non-binge drinkers. And from looking at the data more carefully, I see that binge drinkers preformed WORSE than non-binge drinkers who consumed 10 drinks per day. LMAO that's ironic. It's healthier for your brain to drink constantly than it is to drink heavily occasionally.

http://ft.csa.com.ezproxy.jccc.edu/ids70/resolver.php?sessid=ejk6f14sl2gur356erbfp2q7r3&server=csaweb112v.csa.com&check=c4c3519c49d2d00310b7dfdfe5efd20e&db=psycarticles-set-c&key=BUL/135/bul_135_1_142&mode=pdf

 

[StormingWynn]

1. You preach about how alcohol is stupid and quote a study

I said drinking like a ***** is stupid.

2. You demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of the statistics of said study, mostly in regard to confounding and validity, and don't get why this applies to the article because you only read the abstract.

The only thing in question of the article was the length of abstinence.

3. You say you'd rather smoke pot.

Yeah, because unlike Alcohol it won't kill me directly.

4. You say you don't smoke pot and and act like it's perfectly normal to make the above statement if you don't smoke pot.

If you would read carefully, you'd know that I have smoke weed in the past.

5. You quote another study that deals with heavy alcoholism and has nothing to do with the OP.

"Effects of Heavy Drinking, Binge Drinking, and Family History of Alcoholism on Regional Brain Metabolites"

Might want to check and read said article before trying to bash me.

6. You clearly don't understand what bigman was saying regarding drinking and intelligence, nor the difference between being told you're acting like you think you're the authority on a topic and accusing you of actually reporting to be the authority

I don't care what he was saying, the argument was not with him.

7. You're telling me I'll have a rude awakening when life rolls around? What do you think this is? Where do you get this crap?

Where do you get your crap? You're the one saying that Marijuana is more dangerous or as dangerous as alcohol and posted of a fat man who died after eating a brownie.

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

why do you choose to be unreasonable?

 

[StormingWynn]

Oh, almost forgot, you just said it would be better for you if some dude drank himself to death.

Yeah, less risk of drunk drivers on the road and more importantly he won't be competition for med school. LOL Why, is that so wrong?

is it your contention that logical memory = intelligence?

Intelligence and memory are link, thus I think it's fair to assume that one affects the other. How can someone apply said intelligence if their memory is blank and there is nothing to work with. You can't apply mathematical intelligence without first having learn and memorized mathematical concepts.

 

[StormingWynn]

why do you choose to be unreasonable?

Unreasonable how?

 

[MilkmanAl]

Yeah, less risk of drunk drivers on the road and more importantly he won't be competition for med school. LOL Why, is that so wrong?

I'd go ahead and include in your personal statement that you feel it's okay to wish death on people for personal gain. You'll be a shoo-in everywhere you apply.

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

Just read what you've said in this thread and how you respond to other people. You don't have to respond to everything and you're not always right. No one cares if you win an argument about intelligence and drinking, there is no clear cut answer anyway.

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

Yeah, less risk of drunk drivers on the road and more importantly he won't be competition for med school. LOL Why, is that so wrong?



Intelligence and memory are link, thus I think it's fair to assume that one affects the other. How can someone apply said intelligence if their memory is blank and there is nothing to work with. You can't apply mathematical intelligence without first having learn and memorized mathematical concepts.

This statement is false. I do psychoneuroimmunology research and bunch of stuff in my lab has to do with learning and memory. I don't think any researcher I know in this field would say that higher memory capacity = higher intelligence.

 

[Mackey]

Well if this just isn't the most whiney argument I've ever read, I don't know what is.

 

[Charles_Carmichael]

Yeah, less risk of drunk drivers on the road and more importantly he won't be competition for med school. LOL Why, is that so wrong?

Because, you know, every person who drinks will at some point choose to drive while heavily intoxicated.

I think it's funny that you look down upon people who drink but then, you turn around and say that you hope someone drinks himself to death so that you have less competition for med school.

 

[StormingWynn]

I'd go ahead and include in your personal statement that you feel it's okay to wish death on people for personal gain. You'll be a shoo-in everywhere you apply.

Wow, people take things to seriously. It was meant as a joke. My main reason was drunk driving and violent crimes committed as an effect of heavy drinking.

Just read what you've said in this thread and how you respond to other people. You don't have to respond to everything and you're not always right. No one cares if you win an argument about intelligence and drinking, there is no clear cut answer anyway.

I haven't responded to everything and I'm not always right. I'll admit that my sources were not credible as the abstinence period was not sufficient. If there is not clear cut answer then why do you keep advocating that binge drinking occasionally or habitually has not effects. 😕

 

[cliffhuxtableDO]

I give up.

 

[StormingWynn]

This statement is false. I do psychoneuroimmunology research and bunch of stuff in my lab has to do with learning and memory. I don't think any researcher I know in this field would say that higher memory capacity = higher intelligence.

Well if this is true I stand corrected. I still don't understand how someone who can't memorized something and has no prior memories be an intelligent person. But if that's true than that's great.