New studies from Duke University and the American Medial Association state that the brain doesn’t fully develop until age 25, and the earlier a teen starts drinking, the more damaging and lasting the effects of alcohol can have on the brain. This research reveals that alcohol abuse during teenage years can result in smaller parts of the brain that control learning and memory, showing that alcohol use during these crucial years can have a permanent impact on the way teens learn and succeed in school.
According to the Search Institute survey done in Rock County, almost 30 percent of kids in grades 6-12 reported having an alcoholic beverage in the past 30 days. Some students even reported having their first drink as early as age 8. Adolescents that start drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to become alcohol dependent in later years, and this new research shows that alcohol can cause learning and memory disabilities in the young brain.
The Teen Brain
From ages 13 to about age 25 a pruning and strengthening process is happening in adolescent brains. During that time, the brain cells and connections that get used the least get trimmed away and die off; those that get used the most get stronger. This new knowledge about adolescent brain development explains why it's so important for parents to encourage teens to have healthy activities: The more time your teen spends learning music or mastering a sport, the stronger those brain connections get.
Ironically, this period — when the brain is rapidly changing and most vulnerable to outside influences — is when teens are most likely to experiment with drugs and alcohol. Why? One reason may be because the brain region that's responsible for making complex judgments (the Prefrontal Cortex) isn't fully mature, and therefore is prone to being overpowered by the emotional or motivational regions that are more mature. Scientists believe this aspect of teenage brain development explains why young people sometimes use poor judgment and don't have good impulse control. Because of the huge changes happening in the teenage brain, it's possible that a decision your teen makes now may affect him for life.
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Presentation by Scott Caldwell on Alcohl's Affect on the Teen Brain
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How Alcohol Affects Adolscent Brain Development
The AMA report on the effects of alcohol on the brains of adolescents takes note of a study comparing brain scans of 14- to 21-year-olds who abused alcohol with those of nondrinkers. The study found that, in drinkers, the area of the brain that handles memory and learning was about 10 percent smaller. Scans also showed that these teens have a smaller prefrontal cortex than those who did not drink heavily. These studies have also linked alcohol abuse with decreased memory functioning and impaired learning abilities.
In studies at Duke, alcohol-abusing adolescents were given basic tests and results were compared to tests taken by those not abusing alcohol. The results showed that the frequent drinkers performed more poorly during tests of learning and memory. The AMA report also shows adolescent drinkers scored worse than non-users on vocabulary, visual recall and memory tests and were more likely to perform poorly in school, fall behind and experience social problems, depression, suicidal thoughts and violence.