Drinking alcohol in moderation does not completely deplete all of our brain abilities. In fact, it could increase the ability to detect small changes in a visual setting, according to scientists at the University of Illinois (USA). In two experiments, carried out by Jennifer Wiley and her colleagues, the researchers found that slightly drunk subjects (with 0.8 percent blood alcohol) detected with the same level of accuracy as sober subjects the variations in two versions of a virtually identical movie in which there was only a small change, but those who had drunk responded much faster . However, when it came to solving memory tests that required remembering sequences of letters or shapes while posing a mathematical problem, people who had drunk alcohol did 15 to 30% worse than those who had not. they had consumed alcohol, as drunkenness prevented them from properly directing their attention. The findings are published in the latest issue of Consciousness and Cognition magazine.
Previous studies carried out by the same team of scientists revealed that drinking below the limits considered "toxic" also improves creativity and the ability to solve problem situations creatively.
