Friend or foe? Drunk, the brain can’t tell

When the brain wears beer goggles it can’t see the difference between scary or threatening situations and safe ones.

Researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in Bethesda, Md., used fMRI scanners to peer into the brains of a dozen intoxicated volunteers and find out how alcohol eases inhibitions and prompts often unwise behavior.