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Brain damage

While many people associate alcohol's effects with intoxication, the long-term impact of alcohol on the brain can be severe. Binge drinking, or heavy episodic drinking, can lead to alcohol-related brain damage that occurs after a relatively short period of time. This brain damage increases the risk of alcohol-related dementia, and abnormalities in mood and cognitive abilities.

Alcohol can cause Wernicke's encephalopathy and Alcoholic Korsakoff syndrome which frequently occur simultaneously, known as Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome. Lesions, or brain abnormalities, are typically located in the diencephalon which result in anterograde and retrograde amnesia, or memory loss.