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Effects of Substance
Use on
Teen
Brain Development
- The brain goes through dynamic
change during adolescence, and alcohol can seriously damage
long- and short-term growth processes. Frontal lobe
development and the refinement of pathways and connections
continue through the late teens or early twenties.
Damage
from alcohol at this time can be long-term and irreversible.
In addition, short-term or moderate drinking impairs learning
and memory far more in youth than adults.
(From the American Medical Association website)
- The feelings and impaired behavior
that signal intoxication in the adult brain are delayed in
the adolescent brain. This can lead to overconsumption and
even alcohol poisoning which is potentially fatal.
- An adolescent brain that is exposed
to alcohol and other chemicals is more susceptible to depression
and other mental illnesses.
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