Brain cells can’t regenerate is
an old myth. Also drinking kills brain cells is an old myth.
The reason for the regeneration myth is that it was believed and
taught by the science community for a long time. In 1998, scientists
at the Sweden and the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California
discovered that brain cells in mature humans can regenerate. It had
previously been long believed that complex brains would be severely
disrupted by new cell growth, but the study found that the memory
and learning center of the brain can create new cells.
Even in alcoholics, alcohol use does not actually result in the
death of brain cells. It may temporarily damage the ends of neurons,
called dendrites. This results in problems conveying messages
between the neurons. The cell is not damaged, but the way that it
communicates with others is temporarily altered.
Scientific medical research has actually demonstrated that the
moderate consumption of alcohol is associated with better thinking
and reasoning skills and memory than is abstaining from alcohol.
Moderate drinking helps the brain function better into old age.