Contents
Nervous tissue is the most sensitive and receptive to toxic substances, including alcohol and nicotine. How do these substances act on the nervous system?
Shot of a poison
External signs of intoxication: emotional looseness, reducing the severity, loss of coordination movements — the result of poisoning the brain with alcohol. It easily passes through cell membranes and immediately spreads throughout the body via the bloodstream.
The brain is abundantly supplied with blood, alcohol gets here pretty quickly and is immediately absorbed by the lipids — fatty substances in brain cells neurons.
Here, the alcohol lingers and exerts its toxic effects until its complete decomposition.
How is alcohol poisoning?
Alcohol is often called a stimulant. This is incorrect. Because alcohol is nothing but poison, and on the Central nervous system he has not the stimulating but depressing effect. It just depresses the braking – hence the cheeky behavior.
The effects of alcohol on the brain depends on its concentration in the blood. At the beginning of the intoxication it affects the structure of the cerebral cortex. The activity of brain centers that control behavior are suppressed: lost of reasonable control over the actions, the reduced critical attitude.
As soon as the concentration of alcohol in the blood increases, there is a further oppression of inhibitory processes in the cerebral cortex appear lower forms of behavior.
With a very high content of alcohol in the blood inhibited the activity of motor centers of the brain, mainly suffering the function of the cerebellum — the person loses orientation.
In the last turn paralyzed the centres of an oblong brain in charge of vital functions: breathing, circulation. In case of overdose of alcohol a person can die due to respiratory failure or heart.
The brain loses power
In drinkers blood vessels, especially small arteries and capillaries, coiled and very fragile. Because of this there are numerous microchromosome, and the intensity of circulation in brain is reduced.
Neurons deprived of a regular supply of food and oxygen, starving, and this is evident in General weakness, inability to focus and even headaches.
And the lack of nutrients in the body in General and brain in particular with regular consumption of alcohol is not uncommon. The man gets most of the needed calories with alcohol, but it contains neither vitamins nor minerals.
For example, in order to provide the necessary daily dose of b vitamins, you need 40 liters of beer, or 200 liters of wine. In addition, alcohol disrupts the absorption of nutrients in the intestine.
Nicotine is also a neurotoxin
Tobacco smoke contains many different biologically active substances. However, the main active substance of smoke for the body is nicotine — strong neurotropic, i.e., having a predominant influence on nervous system as a poison. It is Addictive.
Nicotine appears in the brain tissue after only 7 seconds after the first puff. It has some stimulating effect — as it improves communication between brain cells, facilitating the conduction of nerve impulses.
Brain processes due to nicotine for some time are excited, but then inhibited for a long time, because the brain needs to rest.
A spoiled brain
After a while the brain gets used to a regular nicotine “handouts”, which to some extent facilitate his work. And here he starts to ask, not particularly wanting to overwork. Comes into its own law of biological laziness.
Like the alcoholic, which is to maintain normal health you have to “feed” the brain with alcohol, the smoker is forced to “pamper” his nicotine. And somehow there is anxiety, irritability and nervousness. And so begins the nicotine dependence.
But gradually smokers have weakened memory , and worsening the condition of the nervous system. And even shock provided by nicotine is unable to return the brain to its former properties.
You need to remember
Alcohol and nicotine are neurotoxic poisons. They do not kill man outright, but addiction does. Alcohol depressing the braking system of the brain and deprives it of nutrition and oxygen. Nicotine speeds up the nervous processes, but after a while the brain becomes not able to work without doping.
More about effects of alcohol on the brain watch in the video below:
