How bad of an alcoholic do you have to be to have your brain affected?
One drink of alcohol is enough to affect your brain, whether you are an alcoholic or a casual social drinker. Alcohol is a psychoactive drug that interferes directly with the normal functioning of many parts of the brain. Fortunately, much of the effect caused by alcohol consumption can be repaired by the body when the person stops drinking. But ongoing alcohol consumption at heavy levels can cause damage so severe that the body cannot repair it and the damage becomes permanent.