Alcohol seems to be a common topic for teenagers in today’s society. Mainly alcohol is consumed by adolescents that are bored or trying to fit into a crowd by attempting to look ‘cool’. Students are aware of the effects but why is nothing being done? There are many consequences that come along with drinking; alcohol negatively affects not only the body, but the brain.
Alcohol is officially defined as ‘a colorless volatile flammable liquid, C2H5OH, synthesizes or obtained by fermentation of sugars and starches and widely used as a solvent and in drugs’ according to thefreedictionary.com, but it is much more than that. The human brain does not stop growing until the person is in their late 20’s. Because the brain is still developing rapidly through adolescence, which is the prime time for binge drinking, the brain is involved.
When someone drinks an alcoholic beverage, it is absorbed through the stomach or small intestine. Once absorbed, the alcohol merges into the bloodstream and travels its way through the body. Although the liver does help to eliminate as much alcohol as possible, not all is filtered. This alcohol filled blood will flow through the body in a circuit and eventually go through the brain (Watson 4). Since the brain is still in the process of developing mature lobes, alcohol can revise the way cells are working. A healthy brain has an increase in myelination which is essential for gaining and obtaining knowledge and also allows for beneficial communication between lobes. The key operational method to the brain is that all the lobes work together (Squeglia 1). Alcohol increases the effects of the inhibitory neurotransmitter, GABA, which means chemical messengers decrease electrical brain activity (Watson 5).
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...nd spatial skills. There are many changes that occur while consuming alcohol such as brain volume decreasing, white matter quality and abnormal patterns in the brain are shown. Although it may be ‘fun’ at the time, drinking alcohol affects the brain in the long run and someone can be diagnosed with many syndromes and disorders.
Works Cited
Mattson, Sarah N. "Teratogenic Effects of Alcohol on Brain and Behavior." Teratogenic Effects of Alcohol on Brain and Behavior. NIAAA, n.d. Web. 18 Dec. 2013.
Paturel, Amy. "Neurology Now." Neurology Now. American Academy of Neurology, Dec. 2011. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.
Squeglia, L. M. "The Influence of Substance Use on Adolescent Brain Development." Ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. National Center for Biotechnology INformaiton, 24 Feb. 2010. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.
Watson, Stephanie. "How Alcoholism Works." HowStuffWorks. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Dec. 2013.
Most alcoholics proceed to a stage where their brains or their bodies have been so harmed by alcohol that the effects persist even when they are not drinking. This stage may be reached...
The article “Adolescent Brain Development and Underage Drinking in the United States: Identifying Risks of Alcohol Use in College Populations” written by Marisa Silveri, PhD, aims to emphasize the the negative behavioral consequences with underage alcohol use. Silveri is a highly decorated professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who has been studying the neurobiology of brain development and consequences of alcohol and drug abuse using preclinical and clinical models for two decades. Her substantial background in psychology and neurobiology make her a highly credible source, and improves the author’s chance of making the point really stick. The article is easy to follow, and split up in subcategories that each cover a specific point the author is trying to make. Professor Silveri, with great credibility, uses logic and also emotional appeal to effectively convince the reader that alcohol use affects the brain negatively, and the importance to discourage the excessive consumption of alcohol by adolescents.
Hanson, David J., Ph.D. “Drinking Alcohol Damages Teenager’s Brains.” Sociology Deprtment. n.d.. Web. 20 March 2014. .
"NIH Study Finds Chronic Alcohol Use Shifts Brain's Control of Behavior." NIH News Release. 22 Aug. 2013: n.p. SIRS Government Reporter. Web. 19 Mar. 2014.
A lot of the time, teens think it is ‘cool’ to drink because everyone else does it. Almost every television show that young people watch have some underage substance abuse, leading adolescents to believe that it can’t be that bad. While society plays a big part in this huge problem, both teens and parents need to learn that there can be severe consequences from as little as one drink. Allowing them to think this kind of behavior is acceptable will haunt them for the rest of their lives, even if they are not alcohol related. Believing that such behavior is acceptable now will lead them to bad decision-making skills in the future when faced with an ethical decision. Teens need to know the major effects can come from underage drinking before going to that party or when being pressured into something they may not be willing to participate in. It is obvious that the long and short-term effects of alcohol abuse can be easily avoided by getting educated and thinking before engaging in any self-destructive
The use of alcohol by adolescents is widely viewed as disobedience in American society. Although, alcohol use is technically illegal until the age of twenty-one (in 19 states the consumption of alcohol in not specifically illegal for people under the age of twenty-one), there is still an excessive use of dinking in teenagers today. Since alcohol is associated with all three leading causes of death among teens, it can also have less life-altering consequences such as a drop in academic performances and a decline of friend and family relationships. Also, mental disorders like anxiety, depression and behavioral issues as in loss of temper, an argumentative personality, being easily angered, and blaming others for mistakes. Alcohol is the most commonly abused drug in teenagers and society contributes to abuse by linking drinking to sophistication and good times. (“Alcohol Abuse and Youth” 1)
Although this article does show the magnitude of the problem of teenage drinking, it doers not touch many people or clarify what we can do about it and the lack of clarity is an important factor that limits its impact.
Frequent consumptions of alcohol are followed a number of potential health risks. This is more critical to the young body that is still growing. New research has shown that consuming alcohol can negatively impact the physical developments of brain structure. Youths who were influenced by an early drinking were not able to perform as well as nondrinkers in memory-test. Furthermore, the early drinkers may experience a direct effect on brain functioning. The negative effect includes decreased ability in planning and executive functioning, memory, spatial operations, and attention.
Teenage alcohol abuse is one of the major problems that affect academic performance, cause health problems and is responsible for the death of teenage drivers and sometime their passengers. Many teens drink because they think it is cool and do not understand the dangers of drinking alcohol. In 2008 a survey on the students views on alcohol was conducted in the Atlanta Public School System of 4,241 students surveyed results showed 74% of sixth graders felt there was a health risk while 25% felt there was no health risk; 81% of eighth graders felt there was a health risk, while 19% felt there was none; 82% of tenth graders felt there was a health risk, while 18% felt there was none, and 84% of twelve graders felt there was a health risk, while 15% felt there was none. Given these results on average of all grades, 20% of the students surveyed were unaware of the dangers of alcohol use. If one calculates, using the formular of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (2003), “three teens are killed each day when they drink alcohol and drive. At least six more die every day from other alcohol-related causes” (table 79). The impact of this student population’s lack of knowledge equates to 49 of those students per week who most likely will die because they do not understand the dangers of alcohol.2
National research shows that the early initiation of substance use has been associated with alterations in brain functioning, ...
Alcohol not broken down by the liver goes to the rest of the body, including the brain. Alcohol can affect parts of the brain that control movement, speech, judgment, and memory. These effects lead to the
Heavy drinking is more damaging to both body and brain than smaller amounts of alcohol consumed more often because extremely high blood alcohol levels are toxic to organs, severely impair sensory and cognitive functions, and encourage habit formation or addiction. A youthful brain has weaker controls that would stop a person from drinking too much. Scientists are finding clues in the brain that may help them identify the most vulnerable young people in hopes of halting problem drinking before it starts. According to psychiatry researcher Reagan R. Wetherill of the University of Pennsylvania, “the aim is to bolster brain development ‘just enough’ so that young people can ‘inhibit their own drinking behaviors before they act’”. In the study, the 21 kids who had begun heavy drinking had, in their...
Merritt’s Textbook of Neurology. 7th ed. Lea and Febiger. Philadelphia: 1984. Walton, Sir John.
Alcohol is something that people use to help with multiply different things and some studies have shown that alcohol may help protect our bodies from cardiovascular disease. Alcohol does have side effects to our health the surroundings around us and can cause violence, vehicle crashes and even suicide. Alcohol does have an effect on people that many social drinkers may not realize. Many people usually have tried alcohol around 13 years of age and high school students consume more wine coolers that are sold in the U.S. and they drink more than 1 billion beers a year. To understand the effects of alcohol, it begins with the brain. It is a curiosity as to why people feel the need to drink and drive. The way the brain works while influenced with alcohol has always fascinated me. Drinking and driving is one of the biggest decisions that alcohol leads to. The National Public Services Research Institute (NHTSA) did a study on 600 people who admitted driving while under the influence of alcohol. They described in detail the decisions they made leading up to the occurrence of driving while impaired like whether to take part in a drinking event, how to get to the event, how much to drink, and how to get home. The people being interviewed revealed more than 2,000 individual decisions that led to alcohol impaired driving. The decisions were then broken down into several categories as shown on the graph attached. Little is known as to what leads people to continue to drinking and driving. But as research shows, people do think, prior to drinking, how they will get home. It’s after they have already had been drinking that they decide to get behind the wheel.
Alcohol is a very serious and dangerous drug, although it is not treated this way anymore. College students have taken drinking to a new level in which, for many, is very scary. Alcohol is much more dangerous than many would think. Kids see a night of drinking as a great way to have fun and party but do not see the consequences. Getting drunk and even blacking out can lead to many problems. When alcohol is consumed in unhealthy amounts, it can lead to not only short-term effects, but long-term ones as well.