In good spirit: Alcohol may improve memory, say researchers

The researchers explained that alcohol blocks the learning of new information and, therefore, the brain has more resources available to lay down other recently learned information into long-term memory.

Alcohol may improve memory about information learned before the drinking session began, a new study from University of Exeter in Britain has claimed.

The researchers are, however, keen to stress that this limited positive effect should be considered alongside the well-established negative effects of excessive alcohol on memory and mental and physical health. Although the cause of this effect is not yet known, the researchers explained that alcohol blocks the learning of new information and, therefore, the brain has more resources available to lay down other recently learned information into long-term memory.

“The theory is that the hippocampus - the brain area really important in memory - switches to ‘consolidating’ memories, transferring from short into longer-term memory,” said Celia Morgan, Professor at University of Exeter in a paper published in Nature journal Scientific Reports. For the study, 88 social drinkers (31 males and 57 females, aged 18-53) were given a word-learning task.

In a second task, the participants were asked to look at images on a screen. This task was completed once after the drinkers had drunk alcohol and again the following day, and the results did not reveal significant differences in memory performance post-drinking.

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