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VulcanVisions t1_ixozai6 wrote

Reply to comment by LindenSpruce in ELI5, when someone is intoxicated, how does adrenaline bring back motor skills and awareness? Or does it not? by LindenSpruce

Its kind of like being hijacked.

Adrenaline is a hormone with incredible "go go go" power, so let's pretend your brain is a car.

When you are drunk, the driver (you) is just slowly cruising along, swaying around, minding their own business, but oh no! A truck is heading straight for you.

Suddenly you passenger, adrenaline, sees you don't know what the fuck you are doing, so they yell in your face to step on the gas, grab the wheel from you and swerv you out of the way to safety.

After the danger has passed and you both quit shitting your pants from fear, you both chill out again and you can resume swaying slowly down the road like the drunk monkey you are.

Make sense?

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LindenSpruce OP t1_ixozi4f wrote

It does, and I love a good, clear metaphor.

Thank you.

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Ippus_21 t1_ixrhrl5 wrote

Just to be clear, the adrenaline does NOT improve your balance, coordination, reflexes, or judgement.

It doesn't do that under normal circumstances either. It's not a "skilled action" hormone. It just takes all the safeties off your normal systems. Heart rate and respiration spike, oxygenated blood is shunted to skeletal muscle and away from non-survival-essential equipment (like your forebrain and digestive system).

You might lift a car off somebody, but you may not be able to get the safety off on a firearm or get a key into a lock. You could also pull so hard that you tear muscles and tendons in your own limbs. That increase in HR and respiration can result in passing out from hyperventilation.

It will still do all that while you're drunk, but the fine motor coordination issue will be even worse, sensory feedback will be even duller (increasing injury potential), and god help you if you need to make any decisions.

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