Effects of Alcohol Research Papers

The terms “alcohol” and “nervous system” can be defined as follows. With respect to alcohol, there are two forms of it, methyl alcohol (CH3OH), and ethyl alcohol (C2H5OH). It is the latter that human beings consume, methyl alcohol being a poisonous substance . There is a vast variety of ethyl alcohol containing products and there are very few societies in which it is not, legally or illegally, consumed. The term “nervous system” is defined by an atuhor as, “the system of nerve fibers, nerve cells, and other nervous tissue in a person or animal by means of which impulses are received and interpreted .” Components of the central nervous system are the brain and the spinal cord.

Alcohol effects the brain in several ways depending on the level of consumption. An author notes that alcohol is considered by many to be a stimulant, but that it is, in reality, a depressant. In low doses it depresses the regions of the brain which serve to inhibit behavior. This suppression of inhibitions is what gives the drug its reputation as a stimulant. However, in high doses the drug acts to not only depress brain areas that inhibit behavior, but the entire central nervous system as a whole. An author states, “So at low doses alcohol appears to be a stimulant, until its actual depressant effects become visible as the dose increases .”

The immediate effects of alcohol consumption vary greatly according to the drinker and the amount that he/she drinks. Sales states that people generally drink for a variety of reasons including relaxation, sleep inducement, stress relief, to feel romantic, for pain relief, or to deliberately become intoxicated. Moderate drinking is not known to cause any long term health problem in most cases and there has even been some research to suggest that light to moderate drinking has a positive effect on over all health, but such research is controversial .

There is, however, no controversy over the long-term effects of heavy drinking. The most severe illness likely to be encountered by a chronic heavy drinker is the often-fatal disease, cirrhosis of the liver, but there are a plethora of other health problems associated with long-term excessive drinking. An author presents a lengthy list of conditions associated with such behavior and this list includes cardiovascular problems, neuropsychiatric effects including cognitive disorders, sleep disorders, problems associated with nutrition, and, in women, menstrual abnormalities and infertility .

Behaviors associated with alcohol consumption, once again, vary with dose. Some people become more friendly and sentimental under the influence of moderate amounts of alcohol. Large doses can produce aggressive behavior. Very large doses produce a kind of stupor. Long-term effects of excessive alcohol consumption can produce a host of behavioral problems including an inability to function well in the work place. Newhouse notes that one estimate suggests that 500 million workdays are missed in the US each year because of alcoholism .

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A research paper is an in-depth examination of Effects of Alcohol. More than just an overview of what was learned on Effects of Alcohol, like a term paper is, a research paper contains analysis of Effects of Alcohol along the lines of organizational theory and relevant published material. Research papers are highly analytical and can often be more than 8 to 10 pages. The key to a good research project is the examination of recently published journal articles and peer-reviewed material on the Effects of Alcohol chosen. Like the name implies, research papers are exactly that, a paper that examines the information that can be found on Effects of Alcohol.