A new report in the news today talks about the discovery of smaller brain sizes in people who consume just moderate amounts of alcohol... and no, their brains were not small to begin with.
Apparently, research conducted by the neuroscience program at Wellesley College recognized the link between brain tissue shrinkage and alcohol when studying the phenomenon which occurs naturally as people age.
"Decline in brain volume -- estimated at 2 percent per decade -- is a natural part of aging," says Carol Ann Paul, who conducted the study originally at the Boston University School of Public Health. "However, we did not find the protective effect," says Paul, who is now at the neuroscience program at Wellesley College. "In fact, any level of alcohol consumption resulted in a decline in brain volume."
What causes the brain to physically shrink anyway?
Alcohol is "known to dehydrate tissues, and constant dehydration can have negative effects on any sensitive tissue," says Paul.
Before you get too upset about the results of this study, it is important to point out that there was no determination of decreased brain function because of less brain volume. It is an interesting study, nonetheless.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment