Effects of Alcoholism During Adolescent

Effects of Alcoholism During Adolescent
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Effects of Alcoholism During Adolescent
“Effect of Alcohol Use on the Adolescent Brain and Behavior” by Briana Lees, Lindsay Meredith, Anna Kirkland, Brittany Bryant, and Lindsay Squeglia discusses the adverse consequences of alcoholism on the neural and cognitive functions of adolescents. In particular, adolescence refers to a crucial developmental stage that involves significant social, cognitive, physical, behavioral, and emotional changes (Lees et al., 2020). Since adolescents are sensation seekers and take impulsive actions and have diminished self-control to inhibit behaviors and emotions, they are highly vulnerable to alcoholism.
Lees et al. (2020) depict that the brain undergoes critical neurodevelopment during puberty and its maturation occurs at around 25 years (Lees et al., 2020). The use of alcohol by adolescents adversely affects their brain function, structure, and cognition. Alcoholism during adolescence leads to impairments in proper decision-making and cognitive deficit. In addition, it causes poor memory retention. The authors portray that alcohol use during puberty accelerates the reduction of gray matter and increases the white matter density and volume. These changes in the structure of th...