Alcohol Can Damage Your Thinking Skills, Scientists Find
Alcohol Can Mess With Your Brain for Months—Even After You Stop Drinking
If you’ve been thinking about cutting down on alcohol—or quitting entirely—here’s a new reason that might convince you. We already know alcohol can damage your liver, heart, and even increase your risk of cancer. But a new study covered by Parade reveals something even more alarming: alcohol can change your brain in ways that last months after your last drink.
Yes, months.
What the Study Did (Made Simple)
According to Parade, researchers used 27 rats (17 males and 10 females) to study how long-term alcohol use affects the brain. But instead of letting them drink, they exposed the rats to alcohol vapor—kind of like breathing it in—for 16 hours a day, five days a week, for four weeks. This was to mimic heavy alcohol use in humans.
Then, the scientists waited more than 10 weeks (which would be like months of sobriety for people) before testing how the rats made decisions and responded to rewards.
Here’s What They Found—And It’s Not Goo
As Parade reports, the male rats showed clear signs that alcohol had changed how their brains worked—even long after the drinking stopped.
- They made bad decisions.
- They kept repeating the same actions, even when they didn’t get rewarded.
- Their brains responded strongly to rewards (like treats), but not so well when it came to learning from mistakes.
In simple terms: they got stuck in their habits. Imagine touching a hot stove and forgetting that it burns—you just keep doing it again and again. That’s basically what was happening in their brains.
Drinking heavily, Parade explains, seems to mess with the part of your brain that helps you learn from mistakes, solve problems, and make smart choices.
Women and Men May Be Affected Differentl
Interestingly, Parade says the female rats didn’t react the same way. They didn’t get “stuck” in bad habits like the males did. But their brains held on to memories of pain or reward longer.
Think of it this way:
- Male rats: Keep touching the hot stove because they forgot it hurt.
- Female rats: Only touched it once, but remembered the pain for a long time.
This means women may process the emotional side of things more deeply, while men might struggle with repeating bad behaviors.
Why This Matters for You
Parade points out that even though this research was done on rats, it raises real concerns for people too. If alcohol can make these kinds of changes in the brain—and they stick around long after you quit—it’s worth thinking twice before that next drink.
And no, it doesn’t matter whether it’s wine, beer, or whiskey. The study used pure alcohol (ethanol), which is the same kind found in all alcoholic drinks. So yes, even a glass of red wine could have these effects over time.
Final Thought
This research, shared by Parade, gives us a powerful reason to take alcohol seriously—not just for our bodies, but for our brains. If you’ve ever felt foggy, stuck in old habits, or slow to learn from mistakes after drinking, this might explain why.
The truth is, quitting alcohol might not fix things overnight. But knowing the damage it causes can stick around for months could be the wake-up call many people need.
And if you’re on the fence about cutting back? As Parade highlights—this might be the push to finally make that change.
Credits: All study details and expert insights in this article come from Parade’s coverage of a recent study published in Science Advances. To learn more about alcohol’s effects on your body and brain, keep up with Parade‘s health updates—they break it down in a way anyone can understand.
https://parade.com/health/alcohol-brain-changes-decision-making-study-april-2025