EXETER, England (KTRK) -- Bottoms up!A new study says drinking alcohol can help improve a person's memory.Researchers at the University of Exeter split 88 people, 31 men and 57 women, into two groups. One group drank alcohol, while the other did not. Both groups were given word learning tasks.The next day, they were given the same exercise. Those who drank alcohol remembered more of what they learned."Our research not only showed that those who drank alcohol did better when repeating the word-learning task, but that this effect was stronger among those who drank more," said Professor Celia Morgan, of the University of Exeter.Morgan said the theory is that the hippocampus, the brain area really important in memory, switches to consolidating memories, transferring from short into longer-term memory.Researchers stress that moderation is the key and that excessive drinking can have serious negative health effects.