Alcohol abuse is associated with a number of different health defects and among them is brain damage. It is clear from the effects of drinking too much alcohol that the brain is one of the main areas of the body affected by alcohol. This is evident in the blurry vision, slurred speech and delayed reactions which people exhibit when they are drinking. Prolonged alcoholism may however lead to more serious and possibly permanent effects from persistent exposure of the cells to the toxins in alcohol. A number of factors will affect the level of damage which occurs to a person's brain, including how much they drink, how often they drink, the age at which the person began drinking and the person's general health. One of the first signs of drinking brain damage is experience of blackouts and severe memory loss. Individuals who sustain brain damage from drinking may be able to regain some of their lost functioning through abstinence, but some areas of the brain may remain permanently damaged.