


According to the director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (part of the National Institutes of Health), too much alcohol “shuts down the ability of the brain to consolidate memories.” When you’re past your legal limit of blood alcohol concentration (0.08) and up around 0.16, ethanol, the compound in alcohol that causes drunken symptoms crosses the blood-brain barrier, targeting receptors in the hippocampus (where memories are kept), and memory-making signals are blocked.

Blacking out is dangerous and can be unpredictable as many individuals will commit crimes or engage in dangerous activities with no recollection the following day. Blacking out is not uncommon among drinkers, especially college students. Alcohol-induced amnesia, more commonly referred to as “blacking out” occurs when an individual indulges in too much alcohol.
