This typically occurs after 4 drinks for women and 5 drinks for men—in about 2 hours. In fact, many people who have blackouts do so after engaging in a behavior known as high-intensity drinking, which is defined as drinking at levels that are at least twice as high as the binge-drinking thresholds for women and men. During en bloc blackouts, what most people refer to as being blacked out, someone can’t remember anything after a specific period of time.

Alcohol-induced blackouts: A review of recent clinical research with

If this happens, they will not remember anything that they did while they were drinking. Heavy alcohol use contributes to a shrinkage of the brain similar to Alzheimer’s disease, which is characterized by memory loss. However, studies do not support alcohol as a cause of Alzheimer’s disease. Short-term effects of alcohol abuse — such as coordination problems, slurred speech and blurry vision — fade when alcohol is metabolized, which can take hours or days.

Prevention of Alcohol-Related Memory Loss

Alcohol alters the activity of certain glutamate receptors, thereby boosting the production of specific steroid hormones. This in turn slows the long-term potentiation of hippocampal synapses. Normally this mechanism, responsible for strengthening the synaptic transfer of information between neurons, is the basis of memory formation. In medical terms this memory loss is a form of temporary anterograde amnesia, a condition where the ability to form new memories is, for a limited time, impaired.

• Given thepotential impact of these findings on prevention and intervention programs,additional research examining genetic and environmental factors contributingto alcohol-induced blackouts is needed.
• There is noobjective evidence that a person is in an alcohol-induced blackout (Pressman and Caudill, 2013), thus it can be difficult orimpossible to know whether or not a drinker is experiencing a blackout (Goodwin, 1995).
• This is similar to the factthat one cannot know whether another person has a headache; the experience ishappening inside that person’s brain, with no clear observable indices.
• Your symptoms of confusion and memory loss are usually gone in less than 24 hours.
• With this severe form of blackout, memories of events do not form and typically cannot be recovered.

Researchers

During a blackout, individuals can retain new information in their short-term memory for a few minutes in the absence of distractions. This enables individuals to engage in social activities, have conversations and even drive a vehicle. Similarly, the memories formed before and blackout amnesia after the blackout also remain intact. An alcohol-induced blackout combined with other alcohol intoxication symptoms can result in risky and reckless behaviors. It is typically impossible to tell if someone is having a blackout, as they can still function normally.

Sudden Memory Loss FAQs

When a person blacks out, they make decisions, hold conversations, and even continue to drink. They appear to be conscious, but they will not remember what happened. This is extremely risky, as the person may attempt to drive, have sex, or perform other risky behaviors that can lead to permanent harm and even death.

How much alcohol can cause a blackout?

BrACs of 20g/dl and above are typically required to induce a blackout, thereby limiting theability to safely dose research participants to the point of blackout. Finally,given the growing literature on alcohol-induced memory impairments andblackouts, a standardized assessment for alcohol-induced blackouts is sorelyneeded. Most of the existing research on alcohol-induced blackouts either uses asingle item from the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index or the investigator’sown description/definition of an alcohol-induced blackout.

• If a person’s blackouts are related to an underlying medical condition, they should stop once the person receives treatment to manage the condition.
• The results were published in the Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol.
• Although the limitation of only two assessment time points does not allow for true tests of mediation (accounting for temporal precedence of mediator and outcome variables), these analyses were conducted to quantify indirect intervention effects, in hopes of informing future research.
• Some people define blackouts as a temporary loss of consciousness that typically lasts for a few minutes.
• Consciousness lapses and people become comatose, unable to be aroused.
• A blackout ends when your body has absorbed the alcohol you consumed and your brain is able to make memories again.

• Alcohol-induced dementia is not technically a medical term but is often used to describe dementia-like symptoms that occur due to alcohol use.
• Even with cues, you’re unlikely to remember what happened during this time.
• Memory deficits during ablackout are primarily anterograde, meaning memory loss for events that occurredafter alcohol consumption (White, 2003).
• In fact, many people who have blackouts do so after engaging in a behavior known as high-intensity drinking, which is defined as drinking at levels that are at least twice as high as the binge-drinking thresholds for women and men.
• The graph represents published articles andreviews published in English and includes both animal and human studies with theterms “blackout” and “alcohol” in the title,abstract, and/or keyword.
• During fMRI scanning,participants completed a contextual memory task.

We strive to create content that is clear, concise, and easy to understand. Kristen Fuller, M.D., is a physician and a clinical mental health writer for Center For Discovery. Alcohol impairs your ability to walk, speak, react, and remember events. It also lowers inhibition, hinders impulse control, and affects decision-making.