N&PD Moderators: Skorpio | thegreenhand
Neither alcohol nor cocaine is neurotoxic under ordinary conditions. What is this, a DARE forum? The primary mental health risk of alcohol and cocaine use is addiction, not neurotoxicity.
Alcohol causes long-term brain damage in two known ways: excitotoxicity can occur during severe alcohol withdrawal syndrome, and excessive alcohol use combined with poor diet can lead to thiamin deficiency. Cocaine causes vascular damage which can lead to a stroke, as well as contributing to malnutrition by suppressing appetite.
That's not what "neurotoxic" means.dez79 said:Go to a AA group session u will see plenty of people with permanent brain damage alcohol in excess is big time damaging
Ladies and gentleman, the very next sentence of the abstract:Burn it up said:"ethanol, acting by a dual mechanism [blockade ofN-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptors and excessive activation of GABAA receptors], triggers widespread apoptotic neurodegeneration in the developing rat forebrain." (http://www.sciencemag.org/content/287/5455/1056)
Vulnerability coincides with the period of synaptogenesis, which in humans extends from the sixth month of gestation to several years after birth.
Depends which alcohol you are referring to. For example a glass of red wine a day is not 'toxic', its actually healthy. While a small dose of coke is not healthy at all
Nom de plume said:Whoa! What a loaded question. Neither drug—in recreational doses not exceeding that of toxic doses—does not damage the brain or attenuate the intellect.
A confusing sentence with that double negative[...]
[...] but you've provided anecdotal references that should only be of significance to you.
You can't really extrapolate all that much from your own experiences.
At the same time, the OP's question is confusing; its hard to say whether they refer to acute or chronic brain damage, etc.
Nice replies I guess I should stop worrying then.