system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Chemistry] What exactly happens in the brain when someone "Blacks out" from alcohol?

I am guessing that some kind of block happens so nothing can reach long term memory, but I am not sure why a lot of alcohol causes this. I am wondering what happens on a chemical level as to why when someone consumes a lot of alcohol they "Black out" and cannot remember anything the next day.
gpt
Alcohol is an antagonist for NMDA receptors in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. These receptors bind glutamate, which deems them excitatory. Alcohol is also an agonist for GABA receptors, which are inhibitory. This serves as a positive feedback loop, and if you have enough alcohol it can be strong enough to inhibit something called long term potentiation. LTP is basically a strengthening of the synaptic connection between neurons so that the response is stronger to the stimulus (you trying to remember something). If you're unable to reach LTP you're unable to recall the memory in a long term context, therefore you black out.