Comments on There Go My Golden Years

So excessive drinking is bad for you?

Great! I can drink more, and my synapse gaps will shrink, reducing my overall reaction time!

Oh what a pile of shit. Are they following individuals over time, or just comparing drinkers to non-drinkers? If the latter, they can't say shit about causation. Maybe tiny brained people are more prone to drinking; maybe there's an underlying characteristic that causes both shrinking brains and more alcohol consumption.

And the idea that it's more pronounced in women? Come on -- do the researchers know if women are more likely to underreport their consumption than men, therefore skewing the results? It's a lot less socially acceptable for women to drink mass quantities than men -- especially in the 60 year old generation.

My ultimate goal is for the tiny, little, walnut-sized remaining nubbin of my brain to go 'poof' on my 90th birthday. See you there, bitches! Bring liquor.

So what? The average person only uses about 10% of their brain on a good day, meaning it's already more than 80% wasted space in there anyway.

3 - too drunk to read the article? the answers to your questions are right there.

I think I am smarter when I drink. And that is the only metric that really matters. Unless you happen to be not me.

I'm better at video games when I'm drunk, and the only time I'm entirely honest is when I'm drunk...the only way I can sit through political speeches is if I'm drunk, and the only way I'll vote is drunk. I think I'm better off drinking.

@5, no.

Brain is divided into sections...you know...called lobes that have differing functions--frontal, occipital, parietal, and temporal. Even within those lobes, there are sub regions like Broca and Wernicke's area, pre frontal lobe, blah blah blah. Even conservatives use more than 10%, even if doesn't seem like it.

As for the study...well, duh. Alcohol abuse hurts the body. Who would have thought?

So just like, oh, every other credible scientific study in history, the take away here is that moderation is the key.

Duh.

This is why studies always say that the benefits for women are mixed, whereas they're positive for men.

And I disagree about "use", Leslie, more like "misuse".

*None of the participants had evidence of clinical dementia or had suffered a stroke.* So in effect they've shown that among a population pre-screened to not be susceptible to stroke or dementia, heavy alcohol consumption caused brain shrinkage. There's an obvious flaw here: perhaps you've effectivly screened out the non-drinkers who had above average shrinkage - i.e. those more susceptible to stroke. Maybe what they've really shown is that if you're predisposed to dementia or a stroke becuase of above normal brain shrinkage, drinking wine like a basque peasant actually lowers your odds of stroke and dementia.

I thought that's what we were shooting for all along.

OTOH, weed totally reverses this.

BUT according to the BBC, using the Internet will grow your brain!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7667610.stm

Just websurf drunk, they'll cancel each other out and you'll be fine.

"This relationship was somewhat more pronounced in women..."

No shit?...

Well, no wonder Ted Roethke couldn't write poetry worth shit!

So now we know where right-wing republicans come from.

So how come Megan Seling doesn't look like Metaluna?

The article does mention that there's no solid correlation between brain shrink and brain function, however.

And for what it's worth (I know it was just a joke but I'm being THAT GUY anyways), the "we only use 10% our brain" idea is a myth. We actually need 100% of our brains for one thing or another. The persistence of this misnomer is, in part, a holdover from mystics and psychics purporting we only use 10% of our brain's potential - the other 90% of course THEY use (for a fee) to tap into their supernatural powers.

I need a beer.

Ah, #15 beat me to it.

@12 - actually, everyone's at risk of dementia, the age-related incidence increases as you get older, and the same goes for stroke.

Mind you, exercise, a varied diet low in red meat, and drinking wine (if male) will help reduce those risks dramatically.

Dominic Holden give The Incredible Sulk bottle of Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill, Sulk drink bottle, freak out, brain shrink, THE INCREDIBLE SULK BECOME JOHN BAILO!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH!!!!!! DAMN YOU, DOMINIC HOLDEN! DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU!

Hey, wait a minute! It was only a dream! Whew! Thank God!

And no, I don't feel like letting it go.