# How does alcohol cause blackouts?

- Institution: TED
- Department: TED-Ed
- Speaker: Shannon Odell
- Year: 2024
- Level: For everyone
- Language: English
- Subjects: Biology, Medicine and health, Psychology and the brain, Teaching and learning
- Source: [TED](https://www.ted.com/talks/shannon_odell_how_does_alcohol_cause_blackouts)
- Licence: [CC BY-NC-ND 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) (Non-commercial use only, and no changed versions.)
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (sources give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the source's own words)

Alcohol has been shown to have strange and selective effects on the brain. Many intoxicated people can perform complex tasks like holding a detailed conversation or navigating a walk home. Yet for those experiencing a blackout, the memory of these events is quickly forgotten. So, how does alcohol cause these memory lapses? Shannon Odell explores how ethanol interrupts the brain’s processes. \[Directed by Anton Bogaty, narrated by Pen-Pen Chen, music by Jarrett Farkas\].

## Lectures

1. [How does alcohol cause blackouts?](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/learn/ted/shannon_odell_how_does_alcohol_cause_blackouts/a359757dbbc0), 5 min (TED's player)