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May 16th, 2011
05:39 PM ET
Binge drinking may harm learning, memoryAfter a night of partying, it's not uncommon for college students to wake up with a fuzzy recollection of the evening’s events. But a new study suggests that binge drinking may impair memory in young people long after the hangover has worn off, perhaps because of damage to the hippocampus, a brain region involved in learning. In the study, which appears in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, researchers in Spain gave a series of simple language and memory tests to 122 college students between the ages of 18 and 20, roughly half of whom were self-identified binge drinkers. The other half also drank alcohol, but more moderately. In the first test, for instance, the students read lists of words and then tried to recall as many of them as they could in increasingly difficult exercises. In another, they were told two stories and asked to recount them as accurately as possible. Health.com: 10 hangover remedies: what works? The study does not prove a cause-and-effect relationship between binge drinking and memory impairment. It's possible, for instance, that students who struggle with learning and attention might be more prone to binge drink, rather than vice versa. However, the researchers say, the findings do suggest a "clear association" between binge drinking and difficulty with tasks linked to particular brain regions, especially the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex. The hippocampus is especially vulnerable to the toxic effects of alcohol, they write. Health.com: The newest ways to boost your brain power Dr. Thomas Hicklin, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, says he hopes the study will make college students more aware of the not-so-obvious risks of binge drinking. "This is an important topic and a multifaceted problem," says Hicklin, who counsels many students at the USC Health Care Clinic. "There's a lot of peer pressure when it comes to binge drinking, but students need to protect their brains." If binge drinking does damage the hippocampus—as the study suggests—researchers aren’t certain whether the damage is permanent. "That has not been studied," Hicklin says. Health.com: How bad are your past sins really? The study authors, who are based at the University of Santiago de Compostela, called for long-term studies that would follow groups of students before and after they started—and stopped—binge drinking regularly. Such studies would clarify the effects of heavy drinking on short-term memory as well as academic performance, they write. Copyright Health Magazine 2011
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  About this blog
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love. Recent Comments
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Uhm, duh? How in the hell is this news?
Crawl back under your rock.
Hmm, binge drinking makes you stuipd? It took the National media to reveal this? Go figure.
I got about 2 sentences into this article before I was done reading– all I could think was, "who cares?!?!" Ok, so those college kids are damaging their memory. I was SO there and wouldn't change a thing. Really. I mean, the sun causes cancer. And drinkers live longer than non-drinkers (this from another study looking at social aspects of drinking and life expectancy). Just do what you wanna do.
Then why bother reading and commenting on the story?
I think his intention was to point out how stupid this article , and the study, are. A point lost on you Tom TOm the pooper's son.
Oh, aren't you special? Obviously, the real point of the article was lost on both of you, you moronic little dickfors.
It willhaunt you years later and it comes quicker than you think STUPID!!!!!!!
It will haunt you years later and it comes quicker than you think STUPID!!!!!!!
so binge drinking makes it harder for someone to brainwash us? someone pass me another bottle.
if by "brainwash us" you mean "impart knowledge and education" then yes.
Really ......No S**t....
The results of this study do seem obvious, but I'm curious if the damage to the hippocampus is permanent.
That is a good question. I'd like to know the answer as well.
They did not say the hippocampus is damaged. Another thing to think about, do you think the majority of students wanting to go to, med school for example drink as much as others. This study could just as well be showing students who are planning on attending post secondary education drink less, and these students who are probably smarter than others can remember more.
They could never do any testing on a drunk hippocampus. The PETA people would go absolutely ballistic. Besides, do you know how much booze it takes to get one of those things wasted? Take my word for it - Spring Break, 1996 - never again. Never agin.
Way to put yet another fantastic headline out there, CNN. Keep up the good work.
Binge drinking may also lead to death by Alcohol poisoning..
Death, bummer bro, that will really hurt your studies.
i was just drinking when i stumbled upon this article... wait let me scroll up to refresh what i just read
Thank you Doctor Obvious
I forgot what i was going to wrtie too tired Too think i need a drink
why did you need a study to state the obvious !!
almost makes me wish i wasnt sitting here working my way through a fifth of Skyy.
I'm sure glad CNN cleared this one up for all of us. Until now I was under the impression binge drinking was quite healthly. Here's another piece of advice: Running over your foot with a lawnmower can cause permanent toenail damage.
how did they find the most horrible looking people in one room?
Oddly enough, if you drink enough, they get better looking.
Any drinking in any amount is BAD...........Not just for the drinker But Mostly FOR OTHERS...............
And how much time and money did it take for these idiots to figure this one out? Oh, thats right, they already knew it from their binge drinking in college. That's why it took them 7 and 1/2 years to graduate.
Yeah you got that right. Here's to college, the best eight years of my life. $40,000 for student loans but the good times-priceless! I am working in the real world now. I don't regret a thing. People: you should get that stick up out of your a$$ and not take it so seriously. Life is fun. Learn what you can. Work hard but don't forget to enjoy yourself.
Some prof and his grad students got a lot of extra beer money for this brilliant revelation. And, wow, they want more to keep "studying" this apparently here-to-fore unknown phenomenon.
Wonder if I could get a paying gig with these "researchers" doing deep, embedded, undercover field work for them.
Hey I loved college. However, I don't think we ever had a hippo on our campus. Wouldn't I remember something like that?
That's a crock full of #$. I was a binge drinker at the colege level.(Not a good thing) Top of my class. 99.1 GPA. I was just bored stiff. That's why I did the drinking thing......... Do another few years of research.
Really??? You spelled "college" wrong... and GPA is not figured that way, so you haven't fooled anyone. You better go back to school–and stop drinking, although it may be too late!
Like binge drinking, apparently, swallowing a live hand-grenade may harm learning also. To study this further, 12 billion dollars have been allocated to see if we can say that swallowing a live hand-grenade CAN harm learning, with another 2.6 trillion in the budget next year to determine if swallowing a live hand-grenade DOES harm learning.
From what I understand it also makes you incredibly LAZY and apt to do stupid studies like this one just to get ANY grade at all.
Meanwhile there is a story about Iranian Bases in Venezuela if you all ever wake the FK up.
I've been learning stuff all my life. pre-school, grade school, college, seminars, field training, fair weather friends and users. It was harder to do when I was young, but it's starting to feel pretty pointless now. All that learning hasn't made me one bit happier, just more exploitable; so now, I binge drink every once in a while to kill off some of the useless knowledge, and to slow the process so that I can be blissfully ignorant enough to enjoy my frigging life.
it's working!
NEWS FLASH – Hitting yourself in the head with a hammer may harm learning, as might pounding your head against the wall, or smoking half a pound a marijuana a day. I guess the people who hand out money for people to do these studies haven't figured out any of that yet.
Option 1: Go out on the weekends and have a great time making bad decisions.
Option 2: Stay in playing World of Warcraft and retain 4% more information then the people who actually have fun.
I'll take Option 1.
Amen, brother. You only live once. I feel sorry for people who grew up fully before age 18.
Headline: Binge drinking may harm learning. Ya think?
Someone got paid to do this study. Where can I get a gig like that? Okay, how about this: Alcohol kills brain cells. There. Now pay me.
This is so true. I woke up one morning after a late night of partying and didn't realize that I voted for Obama until it was too late. I know I wasn't the only that this happened to. Look at our country today.
Duh
smoke sh!t instead, mon
"The study does not prove a cause-and-effect relationship between binge drinking and memory impairment. It's possible, for instance, that students who struggle with learning and attention might be more prone to binge drink, rather than vice versa."
...a key point to remember in every study and all research findings. Correlations are not cause:effect.
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go back under your rock, christian freak...
Well, if these are the Last Days, then I'm totally trashing the room before I check out.
No KIDDING!?!?!?!??!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BINGE DRINKING IMPAIRS ........IMPAIRMENT< it's like saying tobacco impairs breathing..........
LEGALIZE CANNABIS!
I missed that party? But really... binge drinking harms learning? I suppose the next research project will demonstrate that drinking drain cleaner harms your ability to maintain empathy in relationships.
Binge drinking may harm learning.
Next week: Suicide may shorten life span.
I'd like a million bucks of government money to fund a study. Better make that five million.
I am 57 now--and could have told you all this when I was 18!!!!!! Well--–DUH
What an insightful study. I can't wait for the results of the next one, where they determine if stabbing yourself in the eye could affect your vision..
It destroys character, too.
Duh! I wish I was getting paid handsomely to write this drivel like this CNN writer does! Smoking pot affects your learning ability too, messes up short term memory.Gosh, can I have a six figure income for saying that now? I didn't even have to get a degree to know that. Wow! How smart I am! I think I'll go have a couple of brews and another joint!
You needed a study to show this? All you had to do was ask.
You mean to tell me that drinking is bad for you? No way.
Funny, I feel so much smarter while partaking, I'm sure damn near genius.
To everyone posting comments that are some variation of "Duh:"
Just because something seems obviously true does not make it so. Folk wisdom is often wrong; the goal of science is to provide evidence for phenomena, so no matter how obvious this finding may seem to you, it is still important in that it is a controlled and statistically significant effect which paves the way for future research on the long-term effects of chronic alcohol abuse on memory.
The effects of alcohol on the hippocampus are currently unknown, both in the short-term and the long-term. There is nothing "duh" about it. Also, if you don't even know what the hippocampus is, then no, you could not have "done this study yourself."
Ok, I know many of you don't care but I do. I care because when i'm 60 I would like to remember my friend's name! And, why do these comments have to be so mean? Sure, everyone has their own oppinion but, maybe you should hold back just a tad. And yes, this does affect your memory and learning abilities! You wonder why drunk people get into car accidents? Because their reaction time is slower! So what does this tell you???
"Marijuana is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink?"
Good book, check it out.
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