Introduction
Ethanol acts as a depressant of the central nervous system with the principle mode of action involving GABA. The metabolic fate of alcohol in the blood stream is its conversion to actealdehyde by the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase, principally in the liver. The acetaldehyde produced is further converted to acid by the enzyme acetaldehyde dehydrogenase.
The pshychological and physical impact of consumption of alcohol as a recreational drug in the immediate, mid an long term has been subject to intense study. (Thethy & Rajesh, 2006). The behaviour of people after consumption of alcohol has also been analysed. (Rao & Kishore, 2007) But there is very little existing literature on the relationship pattern between time of consuming the alcohol and setting of the various alcohol induced behavioural mores. The present study aims to establish this pattern.
Material and Methods:
Alcohol was obtained from Diageo, Russia (Smirnoff Vodka, 40% alcohol v/v), United Spirits, India (McDowell's No. 1 whisky, 40% alcohol v/v) and Hennesey and Co., France (V.S.O.P cognac, 40% alcohol v/v). Orange juice and carbonated water were obtained from Pepsico India. The alcohol was administered to volunteers under different settings and the effect of the alcohol on the volunteer's behaviour were studied. 60 ml of whisky diluted with 60 ml of carbonated water or 60 ml of vodka diluted with 60 ml of orange juice or 60 ml of cognac were considered as one drink.
After consuming the alcohol the volunteers were evaluated on the sober index. The sober index is a random scale from 0 to 100 with 0 standing for not drunk and a score of 100 attributed when the person loses consciousness, due to excessive drinking. (In colloquial language, person passes out.) A score of 50 is called drunk level 1, a position where brain function has been reduced substantially. A score of 75 is called drunk level 2, where a person loses all control over his brain but is still conscious. This level is also called the "I Love you" stage as many researchers have reported the utterance of this phrase by people who are at this level on the sober index, to random, unconnected people. (Navnit, 2010 )
The score on the sober index was plotted against the time elapsed from T0 (Pronounced as the first two letters in Toast) for various circumstances and the graph obtained.
Results and Discussions:
A clear pattern was established between time elapsed and control over brain function, as represented by the sober index.(Fig 1). The figure was obtained with experiments performed on the author.
The different conditions that were chosen include drinking to completely lose brain function, drinking slowly and with an aim to lose some but not complete brain function, drinking socially and drinking as result of getting one beer complementary with the meal.
Irrespective of the reason for drinking, the rise on the sober index fitted the parabola
y= 4ax^2, where a is a function of rate at which the drinks were consumed.
After the last drink has been consumed, the sober index continues to rise for some time but the rate of rise continually slows down before reaching a peak and then begins to fall. The fall is much slower and forms a slowly descending plateau. All measurements were made only till the volunteer went to sleep. This is the reason why all the graphs end at a point with a value on the sober index and not at 0. The case where more than 8 drinks were consumed, shown in dark blue in the graph at first glance seems like an anomaly. This anomaly developed as the author was in unable to make measurements on the volunteer. But on observations made by the author on other volunteers the pattern was established in this case as well. (Supplementary information. Contact author) In this particular case the loss of brain function is accompanied by many physiological effects including nausea and sometimes violent behaviour.
The graph also shows that anything beyond one drink renders a person ineffective to drive whatever the length of the meal.
Conclusion:
A clear pattern between time and brain function was established. The author believes this empirical relationship can be used as a ready reckoner in cases of arguments over soberness.
References
Mahadevan S., Use of alcohol as lubricant in the imparting of speech to logic gates, 2008, Computer Gutenberg, 5 (2), 205-210
Navnit A, The Love syndrome observed at drunk level Two, 2010, Behaviour, 205, 1504 - 1508
Rao A.S., & Kishore S., The effect of alcohol on people breathing air polluted with burning grass, 2007, Acta Narcotica, 78, 90-94
Thethy Begs & Rajesh V., Alcohol as a stimulant: A review, 2006, Presented at the Chemistry and Biochemistry Technical Symposium.
Acknowledgements:
The author wishes to thank Varun Sanghvi for partially funding this research via the grant Golf Course 31710.
