<p>How much alcohol can you consume before it starts to kill a single neuron or interfere with proper brain functioning? Does it happen:</p>

<ul>
<li>If you take just a few drops of alcohol? </li>
<li>If you drink a rum and coke cocktail? </li>
<li>If you get so drunk that you cannot remember what you have done?</li>
</ul>

<p>I like drinking a bit when I go out to pubs or the like, as I didn't consider that taking a pair of cups approximately once per month could do anything to my brain, but I've reconsidered it, so I'd like to know how much is needed to produce negative effects on the brain. Hope you can guide me with this.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-12T05:08:23.750Z
[Median lethal dose (or LD-50)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_lethal_dose) is a useful concept for a question like this. Individual differences are bound to play a role, so I suspect the best way to answer would be to describe the median dose for causing neural damage. BTW FWIW, [Kelly Huffman says, "There is no safe level of drinking during pregnancy,"](https://ucrtoday.ucr.edu/19363) but I don't know if that was an opinion or supported by some evidence other than what she would've gotten from the study described here, which doesn't seem suited to produce such evidence.
Nick Stauner
<alcohol><brain-development>
How much alcohol is negative for brain function?
user2638180
# How much alcohol is negative for brain function?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-02-11)

How much alcohol can you consume before it starts to kill a single neuron or interfere with proper brain functioning? Does it happen:

* If you take just a few drops of alcohol?
* If you drink a rum and coke cocktail?
* If you get so drunk that you cannot remember what you have done?

I like drinking a bit when I go out to pubs or the like, as I didn't consider that taking a pair of cups approximately once per month could do anything to my brain, but I've reconsidered it, so I'd like to know how much is needed to produce negative effects on the brain. Hope you can guide me with this.

**Tags:** alcohol, brain-development

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: [Median lethal dose (or LD-50)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_lethal_dose) is a useful concept for a question like this. Individual differences are bound to play a role, so I suspect the best way to answer would be to describe the median dose for causing neural damage. BTW FWIW, [Kelly Huffman says, "There is no safe level of drinking during pregnancy,"](https://ucrtoday.ucr.edu/19363) but I don't know if that was an opinion or supported by some evidence other than what she would've gotten from the study described here, which doesn't seem suited to produce such evidence.  

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## 0 answers

