‘Beer goggles’ is a myth and men and women do not see each other any differently after alcohol, a brain expert has revealed.

The area of the brain that makes people want to mate keeps functioning, no matter how much they drink, meaning that people can still assess how visually-appealing others, according to Dr Amanda Ellison, senior lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Durham University.

“We still see others basically as they are. There is no imagined physical transformation – just more desire,” the Telegraph quoted her as saying.

In her book, Getting Your Head Around the Brain, Dr Ellison argues that people do not appear more attractive to both sexes after alcohol.

Hangovers are caused by dehydration – the brain shrinks and tugs on the meninges, which causes the headache, she explained.

But before that, alcohol switches off the rational and decision making areas of the brain while leaving the areas to do with sexual desire relatively intact, and so this explains beer goggles, she said