Alcohol blocks a chemical in the brain that focuses our attention, study finds

Drinking a lot of booze makes it harder to concentrate as alcohol blocks a chemical in the brain responsible for focusing our attention, a new study revealed. Researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Centre set out to explain the process in the brain that causes alcohol to make someone less focused. A chemical called norepinephrine is used by the brain to help us pay attention but'acute exposure to alcohol inhibits this signal in the brain', the team found. While it is known that alcohol affects the brain's motor control, leading to people being unsteady on their feet when they walk, this is the first time that research has shown that boozing affects a person's attention span. Study lead, Professor Martin Paukert, said that when attention is needed for a task, norepinephrine is secreted by a brain structure called the locus coeruleus.