America is now three days past the 2025 elections, the results of which may have either brought celebration or disappointment. Regardless, this weekend may be one of excess drinking of adult beverages. Before partaking, though, people with and without a brain injury should know the neurological facts of imbibing:

Alcohol attacks your brain in multiple ways.  A 2025 American Academy of Neurology study of 1,781 brain autopsies found heavy drinkers had 133% more brain lesions—damaged tissue that chokes off blood flow and causes memory problems.

Despite knowing that alcohol’s negative effects, a person may to choose to indulge in a social setting to release stress or to just “fit in” with the crowd. Those with brain injuries, though, often already have daily struggles in social skills (the words they communicate, intonation, voice volume, use of gestures, facial expressions, body positioning) and should be more cautious. Unlike the general public, for which the NIH-published scientific results are less clear, science has determined there’s no safe drinking level for those with brain injuries.  Many medications specifically state “no alcohol”.  Additionally, a 2025 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism review found TBI and alcohol create a synergistic effect—together they trigger far worse inflammation and damage than either alone.

What about wine’s “brain-cleaning” benefits? A 2025 Stanford research report debunked this theory, exposing that earlier studies suffered from selection bias when comparing moderate drinkers to “abstainers”. Apparently, these “abstainers” were often former heavy drinkers who had stop due to their failing health. When properly analyzed, the protective effects vanished. Even low alcohol doses damage DNA and disrupt brain signaling. 

The good news? Brain damage from alcohol abuse may reverse with abstinence, as nerve cells regenerate. Additionally, more alcohol-centric establishments now offer popular and tasty mocktails as an alternative.