
Only some people get blackout drunk - raleighm
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20180613-why-do-only-some-people-get-blackout-drunk?ocid
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AngryData
Blackout drunk always sounded like a bullshit excuses to me, but I suppose for
some people it happens. My memory can get a bit hazy but never have I ever
gotten to the point where I can't remember anything at all from certain points
in time. I wonder if having different drinking ability genetics effects the
rate of being able to get blackout drunk.

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huxflux
You just didn't drink enough then.

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hajhatten
Or strong enough drinks. The few times it has happened to me i've drank some
stupidly strong beverages (rum or absinthe).

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noir_lord
I've been blackout drunk once in my life, I was 27, I've not been drunk for 11
years now (38 a couple of weeks ago),I average maybe 10 pints a year.

It scared the shit out of me so I stopped drinking entirely for about 5 years.

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luk32
The article is tautological. It basically says that only some people get
blackouts because they tolerate alcohol differently. It's like saying only
some people blackout because only some drink.

I thought some people can't experience it. It seems they just didn't get drunk
enough.

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nikdaheratik
No it isn't. The article mentions alot of science to back this up. It starts
with brain scans from mice studies, which suggest that blackouts are caused by
cells in the hippocampus failing to make new memories correctly. It then
mentions case studies of people who have brain damage in this area that also
are unable to make new memories.

From there, it talks about twin studies which suggest there is a link between
some genes and blackouts. What it's saying is that alcohol is processed
slightly differently in some individuals so that it causes cells in the
hippocampus to misfire and keep them from making new memories. This misfiring
only seems to happen above certain blood alcohol levels. This is similar to
how some individuals seem to be better (or worse) at processing alcohol, even
controlling for other factors, which affects whether they pass out, or get
poisoning, etc.

The bottom line is that alcohol causes different effects in the brain and
turns off different parts of the higher functions at different blood alcohol
levels. This can vary between individuals. In some people, they become more
aggressive, or friendly, or lose their balance more easily than others. For
certain individuals, they lose the ability to make new memories at high
levels.

