How Dangerous is Consumption of Alcohol During Adolescence?

Washington DC, July 20: Binge drinking during adolescence can hurt working memory, finds a study.

The study – conducted in mice by researchers from Columbia Irving Medical Center – explains why drinking teenagers are 15 times Neil Harrison

"The brains of young adolescents are at a stage of development that makes them more vulnerable to alcohol addiction, "said Neil Harrison. "

Other researchers have looked at the neuroscience of excessive alcohol consumption – intoxicating mice by inhalation of vapors or by injection of alcohol. Michael Salling and his team take a different approach, allowing mice to drink voluntarily.

"Shortcuts are useful for getting animals to drink, but these models do not look like how alcohol consumption is developing in humans." 19659003] In Salling's approach, mice have access to alcohol every other day for a developmental period equivalent to human adolescence. "Some mice eagerly drink and others very little – which corresponds to the human experience."

The consequences of excessive consumption of alcohol in adolescent mice are also similar to those observed in humans. As mice become young adults, those who drank a lot in their youth adopt consumption habits that we often see in people.

"Often mice drink energetically as soon as alcohol is provided," said Salling. "This" front-loading "behavior is often present in people who later develop an alcohol-related disorder."

The most striking changes have been observed in the neurons of the murine equivalent of the human prefrontal cortex (PFC). participates in the planning of actions by removing inappropriate responses and keeping working memory (which governs the memory in the very short term) and attention. The area does not ripen completely in people until their 20s.

In drinking mice, some PFC neurons were less able to generate persistent activity, and these changes appear to alter working memory. This finding is consistent with imaging studies that show a decrease in resting activity in alcoholics and drinking parties.

"These findings may help to explain why teething adolescent teens have memory problems," but they also suggest

Harrison and Salling discovered that drinking bouts altered the excitability of neurons by interfering with the channels that allow ions to flow into neurons

"Most adults with alcohol-related disorders begin their excessive consumption of alcohol during adolescence. we hope to find ways to prevent or treat these disorders, it is essential that we understand not only the social and environmental factors that contribute to early drinking, but also the changes in the brain that lead to alcohol addiction Harrison concludes.

The results appear in the Journal of Neuroscience.