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James:

Dear Doctor, I have a friend who tripped and broke his toe after consuming a bottle, or was it two bottles, of wine. He’d like to know why he can’t remember the incident when everybody around him seems to recall it vividly – and keeps reminding him of it every damn chance they get.

The Doctor:

James, I hope your toe is recovering and your memory is improving. You most likely had two bottles of wine – on your own. Those around you were evidently exercising a little more table conversation while you were pouring the good stuff down your throat. I assume that either you don’t get out much, or that you were enjoying someone else picking up the tab.

What I can say is that alcohol has a funny way of affecting our balance, speech patterns and memory. Neurotransmitters are little chemical machines in our brains which send messages to the rest of our body, and when we drink alcohol, they choose to log off, preferring to join the party than do their job. In other words, they would normally be telling you how to walk straight. Rather, they inhibit our ability to function under the influence of alcohol.

The cerebellum – which affects movement and balance – doesn’t react kindly to the recalcitrant neurotransmitters, and the consequence is that you probably had a nasty stagger by the end of the night.

There’s another chemical caused by alcohol called dopamine which makes you feel happy when you’re having a drink. Plenty of dopamine probably made its way into your brain which would have been making you feel pretty good during your little binge.

I note that you haven’t mentioned a video or photos of your performance. This is a good thing. Your blackout, caused by the alcohol, are also a good thing because you can confidently act in denial every time somebody accuses you of anything you might have done.

In future, it would be wise to limit your intake.

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