Gamez 1

Homero Gamez
Professor Collins
ENGL 1302
6 April 2016
Drinking Alcoholic Beverages
A video titled Alcohol and your Brain informs the consumer of the effects of drinking
alcohol. The video informs the viewers how there are different reactions and consequences when
consuming alcoholic beverages. This presentation demonstrates how much of an alcoholic
beverage an individual can consume and handle before losing control. Consuming alcohol can
affect all parts of the body, especially the brain; the brain and the body react in a disorderly
manner. This video provides examples by demonstrating the parts of the brain and body that
alcohol affects the most and explains how alcohol reacts in the human body(Alcohol and).
Reciprocal, proximate, and necessary causes are used in the Alcohol and your Brain video to
inform the consumer that drinking alcoholic beverage can be harmful to them, and cause
permanent damage to their body.
Throughout the Alcohol and your Brain video, the focus is a reciprocal cause which is
illustrated by arguing that consuming an alcoholic beverage can have different reactions on
peoples bodies, and each person may react in a different way. The video displays the cause by
stating, When an individual drinks the consumer becomes more talkative, more self-confident
and less socially inhibited through the process (Alcohol and). Drinking an alcoholic beverage
helps a shy person become more confident with themselves, and it also helps a person to come
out of his or her own comfort zone. The Alcohol and video cannot be backed up from the
information within the article, Effects of Alcohol Dependence and Withdrawal on Stress

Gamez 2
Responsiveness and Alcohol Consumption according to Howard C. Becker, Ph.D. Addiction
Sciences Division B.S. Beckers findings show that drinking alcohol affects the brain, and it
causes the brain to be under pressure. A reaction is developed in the brain structure in the
hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA). HPA gives a direct path and feedback to the axis of
the brain when the alcohol is in the brain. After the pressure becomes active, the corticotrophinreleasing factor (CRF) will then distribute the pressure towards the body which will cause the
brain to strain even more. This controls the rest of the individuals body, and the reaction will
make the body feel pressure, but the mind will give the illusion that one is relaxed. Every
individual, depending on their health condition, reacts differently to alcohol (Becker par. 1).
Some of the information from the video does not relate to the research; therefore, it is not logical.
This article informs the reader about what really happens in the brain when a person is
consuming alcohol. He states that the body is not relaxed when alcohol is in its system, yet the
brain is actually getting stressed out by the alcohol. Overall, the evidence from the article from
Howard C. Becker can be reliable because Becker displays more specific information of what
actually happens, and that drinking alcohol releases more stress, rather than taking the stress
away from the consumer.
Proximate cause of alcohol consumption is displayed in the video which demonstrates the
claim of how alcohol affects the parts that make the brain function. The video displays the cause
by stating, When one consumes an alcoholic beverage, it can damage some of the various parts
of the brain which are needed to function; therefore, it will be difficult for the consumer to learn
or remember things. (Alcohol and). When drinking alcohol it can result that an individual
might develop permanent brain damage, and can cause an individual to not be able to think
straight in that moment. Evidence from the video is logical and supports the idea of when a

Gamez 3
person is overwhelmed by an alcoholic beverage, and does not drink an alcoholic beverage
responsibly. The video can be supported by Alcohols Effects On the Brain by William
Shoemaker, MDA, a specialist in internal medicine. Shoemakers findings show how an
individuals brain reacts towards alcohol which leads to killing some brain cells. The brain cells
that died from an alcoholic beverage are mostly the ones that help the consumer to remember
stuff, and some brain cells that control the body movement. For example, when people abuse
alcohol that night, the next morning they wake up without knowledge what happened that night.
When abusing alcohol it affects the NMDA glutamate system which controls memories. When
the consumer abuse alcohol it affects the NMDA glutamate system; that causes it to stop
functioning, and lose whatever memory they had during that time (Shoemaker par. 20). The
audience can trust the evidence from the Alcohols Effects interview by William Shoemaker
because it comes from a respectable nutritional website, and this argument is accurate because of
Shoemakers expertise on the human brain, and he includes information regarding how the brain
reacts towards drinking an alcoholic beverage. Overall the evidence from Alcohols Effects
strictly illustrates this cause by sharing what damage occurs with the brain when consuming
alcohol by identifying that a persons brain will not be able to handle irresponsible drinking, or
how the brain will shut down on the drinker.
In the video, it also displays necessary cause which is being demonstrated in how
alcoholic beverages affects not just the brain, but all parts of the body. The cause is being
displayed in the video by stating, The body takes in alcohol faster that one can metabolize it. It
goes to the stomach and works its way up to the heart which distributes to the whole body., and
it is not about how many drinks an individual consumes, it is about how much alcohol are in
them (Alcohol and). If an individual cannot handle their alcohol. The alcohol will take over, and

Gamez 4
cause the consumer to lose control of their body. This is supported from the Alcohol Effect On
Host Defenseby Banishree Saha, Ph.D at the University Of Massachusetts Medical School and
Gyongyi Szabo, Ph.D. Professor and vice chair for research in the Department of Medicine. Saha
and Szabos findings show that alcohol consumption has always been used irresponsibly. One
may believe that drinking alcohol may lead to happiness, but it could lead into abusing the
alcohol and becoming addicted to the alcohol. Drinking alcoholic beverage regularly can affect
many organs especially the immune system which helps fight against infectious bacteria, and
other harmful germs (Saha and Szabo par. 1). The audience will see that the Alcohols Effect
article shows that alcohol is a drug, and one can become addicted; as a results, this will promote
an unhealthy body that can be damaged forever. Overall, the research relates to the video
regarding how an individuals whole body will always be affected when consuming alcohol, and
one should be responsible when drinking an alcoholic beverage.
The main goal of Alcohol and your Brain video is to inform the alcohol consumer
about the risks and the results of drinking alcohol by using several casual arguments. The video
uses different kinds of casual arguments that are reasonable, and some that contain critical
research which is not accurate. Reciprocal, proximate and necessary causes are used to inform
the drinker that alcohol can harm an individual when consuming it, and even ruin a persons life.
Either way, if an individual drinks responsibly or not, alcoholic beverage is still harmful for the
human brain and body, leading to an unhealthy life style.

Gamez 5
Annotated Works Cited
3Dme Creative Studio. Alcohol and your Brain. YouTube.Youtube, 26 Aug. 2010. Web. 5 Apr.
2016
The video informs the viewers on how alcohol affects all parts of the body. The film
gives examples on how it is dangerous to drink alcohol irresponsibly. The film explains
when an individual has alcohol in there body, it can change the way the body reacts.
Becker, Howard C. "Effects Of Alcohol Dependence And Withdrawal On Stress Responsiveness
And Alcohol Consumption." Alcohol Research: Current Reviews 34.4 (2012): 448.
MasterFILE Premier. Web. 9 Mar. 2016.
When Drinking Alcohol it helps reduce stress, but it also relieves more stress in the
process. This study shows how alcohol affects the brain of animals and humans the same
way. When individuals are drinking alcohol, it helps the counsumer become more social
and less shy.
Shoemaker, William. "Alcohol's Effects On The Brain." Nutrition Health Review: The
Consumer's Medical Journal 88 (2003): 3-16. Health Source - Consumer Edition. Web. 9
Mar. 2016.
When drinking alcohol, it affects the brain tasks, such as emotions, learning, paying
attention, and reasoning. Alcohol can damage brain neurons and can make the brain
respond differently. Alcohol also affects memory loss and can be permanent.
Szabo, Gyongyi, and Banishree Saha. "Alcohol's Effect On Host Defense." Alcohol Research:
Current Reviews 37.2 (2015): e-1-012. Health Source - Consumer Edition. Web. 9 Mar.
2016.

Gamez 6
Alcohol contact or drinking alcohol affects all parts of the body. It can also confuse the
immune system. It can make the immune system weak, and harm the body. Drinking
alcohol can damage inner organs, and spread to other parts of the body from the liver to
the brain.