# Does alcohol kill brain cells?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-alcohol-kill-brain-cells/52663>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [February 1, 2001, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-alcohol-kill-brain-cells/52663 "2001-02-01T02:45:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-alcohol-kill-brain-cells/52663/1 "2001-02-01T02:45:03Z")

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I there a certain threshold of alcohol use below which no neurological damage occurs? What about about other drugs?

Furthermore… uh, I forgot what I was going to say.

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**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-alcohol-kill-brain-cells/52663/2 "2001-02-01T03:34:17Z")

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So long as your drinking of alcohol is moderate enough for your liver to detoxify it, you’ll be OK. How much that is depends upon a number of factors: your sex, your weight, your metabolism, etc. CT scans of the brain definitely show the death of brain cells in alcoholics. It was once thought that once a neuron dies, that’s the end of it. However, recently they discovered that the brain remains quite plastic even into adulthood: new synapses being constructed to replace loss of neurons if necessary. Neurons, like other cells, die off eventually. Intelligence is not necessarily diminished though because of additional synapses.

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**Author:** ![Shiva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Shiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shiva)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-alcohol-kill-brain-cells/52663/3 "2001-02-01T04:04:48Z")

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Only the slow ones my friend; Only the slow ones.

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**Author:** ![Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-alcohol-kill-brain-cells/52663/4 "2001-02-01T11:51:59Z")

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It only kills the weak ones. So drinking actually strengthens the brain. It’s a part of my Continuous Improvement Program.

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**Author:** ![horowitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/2acd7d/32.png) [@horowitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horowitz)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-alcohol-kill-brain-cells/52663/5 "2001-02-01T13:06:20Z")

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I used to know the answer to this.

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**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-alcohol-kill-brain-cells/52663/6 "2001-02-01T16:54:11Z")

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Sure, it attacks the weak cells first, so if you drink alcohol your brain improves.

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**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\
**Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-alcohol-kill-brain-cells/52663/7 "2001-02-01T17:33:29Z")

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Alcohol certainly confers some health benefits: increases HDL and has phytochemicals, which is so popular these days as being quite healthful. But to improve the brain!? Judging by some of these posts, there is nothing to improve among some of us. (Hey, just kidding.)