New Delhi

We have always heard that people tend to speak the truth when they are drunk or a drunken person never lies. In Latin, there is an old phrase for it, “In vino veritas,” which means “in wine, there is truth.” The origin of this notion goes back to old Greece, but is it really true? 

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Well, modern science says it is both true and false, as per a recent discussion with experts by LiveScience.

Alcohol does make us more likely to say the things that are on our mind but always considering those words as truth might be misleading, as per Aaron White, the leader of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s Epidemiology and Biometry Branch.

"In some cases, that could be the truth. In some cases, it could be what you think is the truth in your intoxicated state," said White.

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"Alcoholics don't think before they speak, whatever's on their lungs is on their tongues," said the Clinical Director of Addiction Recovery Services at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Dr Harris Stratyner in an interview with ABC.

So, one thing is clear, alcohol acts as a catalyst in pushing your intrusive thoughts out of your mind to your lips. There is a possibility that someone will speak their mind after a few drinks, but there is no chance that they would take their own words seriously when sober. For instance, you make a plan to move in with a person whom you met just a week ago. You might eat your words the next morning. 

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While an extensive online search didn't turn up any direct results for research on how alcohol influences honesty, studies about alcohol's impact on personality, emotion and cognition help support this idea.

A 2017 study in the journal Clinical Psychological Science explored how participants' personalities changed after they had consumed enough vodka lemonades to bring their blood alcohol concentration to 0.09 per cent.

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Observers remarked that the biggest change in participants' personalities after drinking was that they became much more extroverted and carefree about their words and actions. Though the study didn't investigate whether alcohol was a truth serum, it shows how someone who feels more at ease in a social setting is also more likely to be candid.

Alcohol's ability to help people come out of their shells may help them say what's on their minds, but White says its effects on emotions can make those thoughts more emotional rather than true.

Those heightened emotions might lead people to say what's on their sober mind, but they can also put out something they don't really mean. 

"Alcohol is not a truth serum," White told LiveScience. "That's for certain."

(With inputs from agencies)