Does Alcohol Kill Brain Cells? Part One: Post-Mortem Brain Research By Kenneth Anderson, MA It is a commonly held belief that alcohol kills brain cells; however, is there any truth to this belief, or is it simply a myth? While it is clear that pathological conditions such as Korsakoff's syndrome or alcohol-related dementia result in the death of brain cells, these conditions are not due to the direct effect of alcohol. Therefore, this blog post will not look at pathological conditions such as Korsakoff's syndrome or alcohol-related dementia which are due to other factors in addition to alcohol, such as nutritional deficiencies. Instead, we will limit our discussion strictly to the direct effects of alcohol on the brain. Korsakoff's syndrome or alcohol-related dementia are somewha...

By Tom Horvath, PhD For many individuals, particularly those in 12-step groups, recovery means abstinence (and maybe not much else). I am “in recovery” if I am abstaining. However, there are also other important aspects of the process of change. Several national organizations have devoted substantial effort to defining recovery more broadly. The following definitions are available on the internet: Faces and Voices of Recovery (undated): Recovery from alcohol and drug problems is a process of change through which an individual achieves abstinence and improved health, wellness, and quality of life. SAMHSA (2005): Recovery from alcohol and drug problems is a process of change through which an individual achieves abstinence and improved health, wellness, and quality of life. Bet...

By John de Miranda The sociology term moral panic is relatively new, arising in the 1970s. Examples of moral panic can be found throughout history, however. The anatomy of the concept is simple. A group with power and authority determines that another group or group practice is a threat. Misinformation about the group under attack is generated and spread through various media creating fear. As the public absorbs the information strategies are promulgated to attack the group or practice. From the witch hunts of Salem, Massachusetts in 1693 to the red scare (communism) of the McCarthy era in the 1950s we have ample examples. Recently, the Las Vegas Sun carried an opinion piece that considered the current issue with the social media platform TikTok to be a real-time social panic. ...

By Tom Horvath, PhD Whether we think about them or not, our lives are an ongoing answer to “big questions:” What is important to me? Who is important to me? How important is my health and longevity? What is fun? What is most satisfying? What contribution (if any) do I want to make to the world (or some part of it)? What would I like to be remembered for, and by whom? Identifying Big Life questions The list of questions just stated is not definitive. You get to choose your own questions! It is often helpful, however, to learn about the big questions (the “God, man, and the universe” questions) that others have. For many of us much of the time, it is very easy to get caught up in short-term answers to these questions. We can focus on what and who is important right now, what is fu...

By Kenneth Anderson, MA Normal and Retrograde Neurotransmission Delta-9 THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol) are the two most commonly found cannabinoids in the cannabis plant. The plant contains over 100 other cannabinoids as well. THC and CBD both affect the endocannabinoid system. "Endo-" is a Greek prefix meaning "inside." "Endocannabinoid system" refers to all the systems of the body which contain cannabinoid receptors and are affected by cannabinoids. We will be primarily focused on the effects of cannabinoids in the central nervous system, and on the CB1 receptor, which is the main cannabinoid receptor there. Drugs like THC can affect the central nervous system because there are also naturally occurring cannabinoids in the central nervous system, the endo...

By Tom Horvath, PhD How can we explain the widespread expressed concern about US overdose deaths, coupled with our rather ineffective response to them? US overdose deaths may be the highest in the world. I will limit the following discussion to opiates, but alcohol, meth and multiple substance use are also of concern. I suggest that harsh and inaccurate beliefs about substance use and substance users have led many of the parts of our “system” for addressing substance problems into actions that increase overdose deaths rather than reduce them. In the remainder of this blog, I provide some details to support that idea. Buprenorphine and methadone: The medications most helpful for opiates are buprenorphine and methadone.  As it stands much less than half of the US individuals who cou...

By A. Tom Horvath, PhD Is this question sacrilegious? It should not be. AA has done much good in the world, and I expect it will continue to do so, for those who freely choose to attend it. In this article I point out what harm AA can do and might continue to do. Any activity has a cost benefit analysis, and it is generally reasonable to consider that analysis. The question this article asks has been discussed many times before. You can conduct an internet search for this title and get numerous hits. You might even find this one: https://www.practicalrecovery.com/prblog/aa-harmful/ (posted 10 years ago on 3/25/14). For AA not to be harmful it might need to have more control over its discussions and what its members say (as SMART Recovery aims to do). AA members should NO...

By Tom Horvath, PhD Stanton Peele suggested this idea in one of his recent blogs. As we await Super Bowl Sunday (2/11/24) the question seems worth re-visiting. It would require a careful analysis of outcomes from pro football and substance use to provide an accurate comparison. The data about substance problems is easy to find. Pro football’s data is harder to find, but generally we know that playing football can result in concussions, broken bones, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and other injuries. For further details search for the NFL concussion settlement. However, it seems unlikely than an accurate comparison between pro football and substance use will occur because professional football is popular, and substance use seems to be unpopular. We often condemn substance ...

By Tom Horvath, PhD Boredom is the perception of being under-stimulated. We all have optimal levels of stimulation (some generally want more, some generally less). Whatever your level, when you are not getting enough, you are bored (and when over-stimulated, you may be stressed). Boredom is often considered an undesirable state. However, let’s start with its advantages. If not much is going on in your immediate world, you have time to consider the larger context of your life. It is easy to lose track of what is more important than day-to-day and moment-to-moment issues. If bored you have a moment to consider what is important, rather than just immediate or urgent. When feeling bored you might say, “I’m glad nothing is pressing on me at the moment; I can think about the bigger p...

By Tom Horvath, PhD A recent scientific paper analyzed the responses from nearly 10K individuals who identify themselves as “in recovery” from substance problems. In recent years the addiction recovery field has been considering how to define “recovery.” Five major organizations have offered definitions or attempts at definitions. However, there is not much data on this issue. Two previous studies have looked at how individuals in recovery define it. The present study is an advance because it identified 30 sub-groups, based on socio-demographics, substance use problems, and help-seeking history. Each sub-group was analyzed for which components of a recovery definition might be common for that sub-group. The second study had averaged all subjects together, thus losing some of the diff...