# why does alcohol (beer, wine, whisky) affects nervious system?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-alcohol-beer-wine-whisky-affects-nervious-system/175984>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 18, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-alcohol-beer-wine-whisky-affects-nervious-system/175984 "2003-05-18T02:21:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Vega-TxT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/dfb087/32.png) [@Vega-TxT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vega-TxT)\
**Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-alcohol-beer-wine-whisky-affects-nervious-system/175984/1 "2003-05-18T02:21:13Z")

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why does alcohol (beer, wine, whisky) affects nervious system?  
I mean why do you walk ande speak unpropperly, and so on, why do you feel strange?

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**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\
**Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-alcohol-beer-wine-whisky-affects-nervious-system/175984/2 "2003-05-18T02:39:01Z")

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[Alcohol](http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/alco.html)

That page will explain a lot more than this. Part of _why_ alcohol affects the nervous system is because it, as with all psychoactive substances, is fat soluble and can thus cross the blood brain barrier.

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**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\
**Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-alcohol-beer-wine-whisky-affects-nervious-system/175984/3 "2003-05-18T02:41:58Z")

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You might be in luck; **Qadgop** ’s here tonight.

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**Author:** ![doctordoowop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecc23a/32.png) [@doctordoowop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doctordoowop)\
**Post date:** [May 18, 2003, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-alcohol-beer-wine-whisky-affects-nervious-system/175984/4 "2003-05-18T07:40:08Z")

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Ringo-thank you. That site tells it all. The key word however is central nervous system DEPRESSANT, not blood brain barrier, although of course it has to get in. Alcohol, BTW, is also an excellent anesthetic & was used as such by doctors way back. The problem is, however, the difference between anesthetic blood level & lethal is very slim, hence the danger.