How Alcohol Affects the Teenage Brain
Harmful Consequences of Alcohol
Use on the Brains of
Children, Adolescents, and College Students
An American Medical Association (AMA) report on the effects of
alcohol on the brain dispels the myth that youth are more resilient
than adults to the adverse effects of drinking. Harmful
Consequences of Alcohol Use on the Brains of Children, Adolescents,
and College Students is a comprehensive compilation of two decades
of scientific research on how alcohol alters the developing brain
and causes possibly irreversible damage.
On average, children now try alcohol for the first time at the age
of 12, and nearly 20 percent of 12 to 20-year-olds report being
binge drinkers (having 4-5 drinks in a row). Citing the alcohol
industry’s aggressive marketing to youth as one of this trend’s key
drivers, the AMA today called on cable stations and television
networks to publicly pledge to stop airing alcohol commercials to
youth.
"After NBC announced their plans last December to run hard-liquor
ads, the AMA successfully lobbied the network to reverse this
ill-advised decision," says Dr. J. Edward Hill, chairman of the
AMA. "One year later, the alcohol industry is just as aggressive in
pursuing underage minds through television, and television is all
too willing to comply. This is out of step with public health and
public opinion."
A recent nationwide poll conducted for the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation found that nearly 70 percent of Americans favor a ban on
TV liquor ads and 59 percent support banning beer commercials on
TV. The AMA pledge calls on networks and cable TV not to air
alcohol ads on programs that air before 10 p.m. or that have 15
percent or more underage viewers. The pledge also calls on networks
and cable TV not to broadcast alcohol commercials depicting
mascots, cartoons or other characters targeted to younger
viewers.
"It’s time TV executives and the alcohol industry stop profiting at
the hands of those most harmed by drinking," says Hill. "This
report reminds us of how important it is to protect our children
during these crucial early years of development instead of filling
their growing brains with the misleading notions that drinking is
normal and without consequence."
The AMA report on the effects of alcohol on the brains of
adolescents takes note of a study comparing magnetic resonance
imaging of the brains of 14- to 21-year-olds who abused alcohol
with those of nondrinkers.That study found that drinkers had about
10 percent smaller hippocampi—the area of the brain that handles
memory and learning. Researchers call such a reduction significant
and possibly irreversible.
"Our brains go through important transformations during
adolescence," says Sandra Brown, Ph.D., chief of psychology
services at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Diego and
whose brain research is included in the report. "This study shows
that alcohol use during the adolescent years is associated with
damage to memory and learning capabilities as well as to the
decision-making and reasoning areas in the brain."
According to Brown, alcohol takes a greater toll on brain
development of those under twenty-one than on any other age group.
Findings indicate that adults would have to consume twice as many
drinks to suffer the same damage as adolescents and that even
occasional heavy drinking injures young brains.
The AMA report also shows adolescent drinkers scored worse than
non-users on vocabulary, visual spatial and memory tests and were
more likely to perform poorly in school, fall behind and experience
social problems, depression, suicidal thoughts and violence.
To reduce underage drinking and support prevention, education,
treatment and alcohol control policies, the AMA also advocates
increases in state and federal excise taxes on alcohol. According
to the AMA, revenue from the increases could help states cover
budget shortfalls to pay for alcohol programs. Previous alcohol tax
increases have been shown to be very effective in reducing underage
alcohol abuse. The American Medical Association is the nation's
largest physicians’ organization and is a leader in promoting
professionalism in medicine and setting standards for medical
education, practice and ethics.
Through its Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse, the AMA has
taken a leadership role to reduce the harms caused by alcohol and
other drug abuse, particularly underage drinking.
The AMA Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse directs two national
programs, supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation: Reducing
Underage Drinking Through Coalitions and A Matter of Degree: The
National Effort to Reduce High-Risk Drinking Among College
Students.
