BRAIN IN BALANCE Understanding the Genetics and Neurochemistry behind Addiction and Sobriety by Fredrick Von Stieff M.D

Author:Fredrick Von Stieff M.D. [Stieff, Fredrick Von M.D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canyon Hill Publishing
Published: 2012-01-10T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 9

Memory and Chemical Dependency

“Drugs and alcohol can act like a mucky filter for our perceptions, distorting the way the brain imprints memories…”

It was a typical Monday morning for Sharon Campbell, or so it seemed. (Names in this book have been changed.) She puts on her make-up and thinks to herself, “Last night was a rough one, but at least I slept the whole night through.” She feels a bit groggy, but reasons, “Who doesn’t on a Monday morning?” With her business suit on and all ready to go, she grabs her purse and hurries into the kitchen.

“What are you doing here?” she exclaims. “Aren’t you going to be late for work!?!”

Her husband just glares back at her as he sips his coffee and nods his head, signaling her to open the door leading to the garage. She opens the door to find a mangled wreck of a car. Horrified, she demands to know how this happened.

“You did the same thing to my car last week. Now neither of us have any way of getting to work,” he replies disgusted and matter-of-factly.

“Blackout again,” is the only explanation she can think of, but she still cannot believe her eyes. She looks at the car and looks back at her husband, wondering how she could have caused this mess and yet not remember a thing. All she honestly remembers from the night before is that she slept well.

Imprinting Memories

Sadly, this is based on a true story. Sharon later checked the local newspaper to see if the police were looking for a red sports car that had caused major damages or worse yet, to make sure no one had been killed in a hit-and-run accident the night before. She found nothing, but checked the front of her car just in case to make sure there was no blood. None was visible. She wondered how her body could be completely intact, while her car had been absolutely totaled.

On the kitchen counter were the medications for sleep she had taken the night before. She had had a few drinks with them and must have completely blacked out. Blacking out should not be confused with passing out. When someone blacks out, they continue to function, but neurochemically cannot imprint a complete memory in their temporal lobe of recent or current events. As noted here, the consequences can be devastating. Chemical dependency’s effect on an individual’s memory system can result in drastic physical effects and strained relationships. Drugs and alcohol can act like a mucky filter for our perceptions, distorting the way the brain imprints memories, but some of those consequences can be largely reversed through detoxification programs such as AA.

Memory – How it Works and How it is Altered

We rely on memory to execute even the simplest of tasks throughout our day-to-day lives. Both short-term and long-term memories play a crucial role in determining how we understand our surroundings and experience life. Most of our memories are tied to images. For instance, if someone were to

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.