Binge drinking in adolescence impacts brain regions associated with emotion regulation.
- Binge drinking in adolescence affects brain development by degrading the brain’s ability to form needed neuronal connections impacting the brain regions associated with emotion regulation and anxiety – permanently impacting genes that govern behavior in adulthood. Specifically, on and off exposure to alcohol through binge drinking in the teenage years increases the likelihood of anxiety, cravings for alcohol and alcohol abuse in adulthood (Addolorato et al, 2018; Walter et al, 2019).
- Alcohol use in adolescence molds the reward pathways of the brain to want more.
- Accelerated alcohol use in adolescence between the ages 11-17 can predict alcohol use disorders at 22 years old and into adulthood by impacting the ventral striatum reward pathways, increasing cravings for alcohol and possibly other “rewards,” into adulthood (Addolorato et al, 2018; Waller et al, 2019).
References:
- Addolorato, G., Vassallo, G. A., Antonelli, G., Antonelli, M., Tarli, C., Mirijello, A., Agyei-Nkansah, A., Mentella, M. C., Ferrarese, D., Mora, V., Barbàra, M., Maida, M., Cammà, C., Gasbarrini, A., & Alcohol Related Disease Consortium* (2018). Binge Drinking among adolescents is related to the development of Alcohol Use Disorders: results from a Cross-Sectional Study. Scientific reports, 8(1), 12624. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-29311-y
- Waller, R., Murray, L., Shaw, D. S., Forbes, E. E., & Hyde, L. W. (2019). Accelerated alcohol use across adolescence predicts early adult symptoms of alcohol use disorder via reward-related neural function. Psychological Medicine, 49(4), 675–684. https://doi.org/10.1017/S003329171800137X
