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Advances in understanding adolescent brain development may facilitate future treatments for mental illness, alcoholism, and alcoholism and drug abuse. The results were presented at Neuroscience 2018, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, the world's largest source of emerging news on brain science and health.
Adolescence is a period of development characterized by oversized risk-taking and rewarding behavior, including first exposure to alcohol and drugs, as well as the first onset of symptoms such as as depression and anxiety. And yet, much of the research on brain function related to these conditions is done on adults. As we better understand the neurological causes of these adolescent-specific conditions and behaviors, we increase the potential for early treatment and intervention even before the onset of severe symptoms.
The new findings of today show that:
- The opioid receptor gene in the brain reduces the natural response to reward in young adolescents before they began to use of alcohol or other substances, indicating that carriers of this genetic variant may be more susceptible to dependence (John W. VanMeter, abstract 281.06).
- Childhood trauma affects the development of critical brain networks during adolescence, increasing the risk of alcohol abuse (Sarita Silveira, Ph.D. 645.04).
- The strength of the links between reward systems and the brain's anti-reward systems corresponds to the severity of several important psychiatric symptoms in adolescents, including anxiety and depression (Benjamin Ely, Abstract 320.11).
"The advances in neuroscience presented today help us better understand the links between adolescent brain development and mental health problems, including the consumption of alcohol and substances", said moderator Jay Giedd, MD, of the University of California at San Diego, who conducts research on the biological bases of cognition, emotions and behavior, with a focus on adolescence. "These advances offer new potential methods of identifying young people with biological susceptibility to substance abuse and mental illness, allowing us to implement intervention strategies even before problems arise. "
Explore Further:
The opioid gene variant in adolescents reduces the benefits, may increase the risk of substance abuse
More information:
Related Neuroscience Presentation 2018 Featured Conference: When is a Teenager Adult ?: Implications for Justice Policy Monday, November 5 from 10:00 to 11:00, SDCC Ballroom 20
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