Why Are Social Drinkers More Prone to Memory Loss?
The Memory Process Understanding how alcohol impairs memory begins with a closer look at the process of memory. Remembering takes place in three stages: sensory memory, which lasts only for several seconds, leads into short-term memory, where events and facts are retained for seconds to minutes, and then to long-term memory. Whether information transfers from short-term to long-term memory depends on several factors, including rehearsal of the information, the depth of understanding, attention level and motivation. Alcohol-Related Amnesia Alcohol interferes with the transfer of information from short-term to long-term memory, according to a review of the research on the effects of alcohol on memory by Aaron M. White, PhD. White is an assistant research professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Alcohol contributes to two types of amnesia. The first more common type is fragmentary amnesia, in which only portions of memory formation is blocked.
