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If you've ever been drunk, or seen someone who is, you know there's definitely some cognitive impairment going on. Reaction time, coordination, and speech are slowed. Judgment and decision-making abilities get a lot worse, sometimes wrongly convincing us that we are more attractive to the opposite sex—or that we can safely drive our car. 

 如果你曾醉过酒，或者见过别人喝醉了酒，你就会知道醉酒肯定对人们的认知能力造成伤害。具体表现为：反应时间加长，动作协调速度以及语速变慢；判断力和决策力差了许多，有时还误以为这种状态会对异性更具吸引力，有时也会误以为自己能够安全驾车。

 But is the impairment permanent or temporary? Some people believe that the consequences of drinking alcohol are far worse than a nasty hangover, that it can actually lead to brain damage because alcohol kills brain cells. During Prohibition, teetotaling temperance activists asserted this belief, citing it among the dangers of drink.

 然而，这种伤害是永久性的还是暂时的呢？一些人认为喝酒的后果比醉酒后令人讨厌的表现要糟糕得多，他们认为喝酒实际上会造成对大脑的伤害，因为酒精杀伤脑细胞。在美国禁酒时期（1920-1933年），绝对禁酒主义的激进分子大肆宣扬“饮酒伤脑”的观念，并利用该观念来说明喝酒的危害。

 The truth is that the impairment is usually temporary, not permanent.

 但实际情况是，醉酒对大脑的伤害通常是暂时的，而不是永久性的。

 It is not the brain cells themselves but the nerve connections between them (called dendrites树突) which are most affected by alcohol. The communication signals are inhibited, thus slowing down mental processing and the central nervous system. But the brain cells themselves bounce back with no damage for the most part. Long-term alcohol use, however, is another story. There's plenty of research showing that sustained alcohol consumption can and does cause irreversible neurological disorders.

 受酒精影响最大的并不是脑细胞本身，而是细胞与细胞之间叫做“树突”的神经连接。神经连接受到影响，信号传导就会受到抑制，结果智能处理变慢，中枢神经系统变得迟钝。从很大程度上来说，脑细胞本身很快就会恢复正常，而不受任何伤害。然而，长期酗酒情况就不同了。大量的研究表明，长期酗酒肯定会导致不可恢复的神经病变。