Effects of delaying binge drinking on adolescent brain development: a longitudinal neuroimaging study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Onset of alcohol use by 14 relative to 21 years of age strongly predicts elevated risk for severe alcohol use problems, with 27% versus 4% of individuals exhibiting alcohol dependence within 10 years of onset. What remains unclear is whether this early alcohol use (i) is a marker for later problems, reflected as a pre-existing developmental predisposition, (ii) causes global neural atrophy or (iii) specifically disturbs neuro-maturational processes implicated in addiction, such as executive functions or reward processing. Since our group has demonstrated that a novel intervention program targeting personality traits associated with adolescent alcohol use can prevent the uptake of drinking and binge drinking by 40 to 60%, a crucial question is whether prevention of early

SUBMITTER: Bourque J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5153672 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature