Black-out & grey-out

If you drink a lot of alcohol in one sitting, you may experience a blackout. This is a temporary memory disorder in which there is a disruption in information transfer from short-term memory to long-term memory. The next day you no longer know what you have done and where you have been. Even if somebody helps you out with some cues.

You can also experience a grey-out; you still remember things, but only fragments. Again, an error has occurred in the transfer of information from short-term to long-term memory.

If you have often experience black- or grey-outs, it is harmful to your brain. Furthermore, this can be an indication that you drink too much too often.

After a night of binge drinking, your memory functions poorly the day after, even though the alcohol has completely disappeared from your blood. Short-term memory in particular is (temporarily) affected.