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The effects of youth binge drinking
The effects of youth binge drinking
Alcohol on the brain of an adolescent
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Periodic episodes of excessive alcohol consumption known as binge drinking occur frequently during human adolescence and are known to have negative consequences for the development of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Adolescent binge drinking has been associated with disrupted PFC activity and deficits in PFC-dependent behaviors like decision making, response inhibition, and working memory. Neural adaptations to alcohol that affect the excitability of PFC neurons are likely to be involved, but how adolescent binge drinking affects the intrinsic properties of individual neurons is unclear. Using a voluntary, intermittent access to alcohol procedure in mice, we show that binge-level alcohol consumption during adolescence leads to deficits in the
Our case study begins with a story of a young woman, Karen, in high school. She drinks to make herself more outgoing, performing to make more friends. She drank often during that time with friends. Later in life, adulthood revolved around drinking with her husband and friends. Alcohol continued to be a personality enhancement making it easier to party with friends and even clients or customers. It was not uncommon to drink on the job since her drinking gave her the confidence to engage with customers or clients. In her opinion, life was great. That is until her boss noticed a potential problem and confronted her about it.
Getting Stupid focuses on the mental health affects of alcohol on the teenage brain. Adolescent drinkers are more inclined to damage their brain than adult drinkers. This is because structures in the brain such as the hippocampus, which is responsible for learning and memory, and the prefrontal cortex, “which is the brains chief decision maker and voice of reason” (Wuethrich, p.59) are making a lot of adjustments during the teen years. As a result the brain does not fully develop. This has been proven by a study done with rats, conducted by Scott Swartzwelder at Duke University. The study found that the equivalent of only two beers, for adolescent rats is needed to loose memory, while the equivalent of four beers is needed to loose memory in adult ra...
Alcohol and marijuana use are common in adolescents. Studies have shown that 1 to 2 years of chronic marijuana use and 20 drinks per month show abnormal brain structure (Squeglia, Jacobs, & Tapert). Drugs or alcohol will make can c...
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.
We all know what it is like to wake up in the morning, with our head aching, and our body feeling like it was just hit by a train. College students world wide know this feeling. These are the results of binge drinking. The question of why college students continue to submit themselves to alcohol is unknown. While many reasons are given, the cause generally falls into one of three categories, peer pressure, insecurity, or to help solve there problems. But the one thing students don’t realize are the consequences and effects that binge drinking can have, health and social problems are just a few.
The National Institution of Health published this article for the purpose of explaining about the human brain and it’s relation to alcohol. According to the article, people with alcoholism have been known to have problems with skills in their prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain that controls decision-making and emotions. These same people show exaggerated neural responses in the dorsal striatum due to alcohol-related cues. This information shows that excessive drinking can affect learning and control of behavior and emotion. This information can be helpful in my paper because it explains that alcohol is a disease that affects the brain and it will help me try to prove my point of view.
Hanson, David J., Ph.D. “Drinking Alcohol Damages Teenager’s Brains.” Sociology Deprtment. n.d.. Web. 20 March 2014. .
In utero, something that can be tested is habituation, which is a decrease in responsiveness to repeated stimuli.9 In a study done by Hepper, results indicated that the fetus’ response to a binge-like alcohol exposure, increased the number of trials required to habituate and also increased the variability in performance. This could be interpreted as the alcohol negatively affecting the neural integrity and the brain areas involved in habituation, potentially the hippocampus and the pre-frontal cortex.9 Structural damage in the brain could result in abnormalities in development after birth.
Binge drinking or heavy drinking is a modern description for drinking alcoholic beverages with the primary intention of becoming intoxicated by heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time. It is a kind of purposeful drinking style that is popular in several countries worldwide, and overlaps somewhat with social drinking since it is often done in groups. The degree of intoxication, however, varies between and within various cultures that engage in this practice. A binge on alcohol can occur over hours, last up to several days, or in the event of extended abuse, even weeks. Due to the long-term effects of alcohol misuse, binge drinking is considered to be a major public health issue. The more often a child or adolescent binge drinks and the younger they are the more likely they will develop an alcohol use disorder called alcoholism.
125). During this stage, adolescents may be exposed to illegal drugs, and alcohol which may have the tendency to decrease or damage their brain development. Squeglia, Jacobus, and Tapert, (2009) note that in the process of neurological development, drugs and alcohol have the tendency to affect the brain’s maturation and brain development (pp. 31-38). The stage of adolescence is accompanied by a swift change from childhood in terms of psychosocial, emotional and biological makeup and exposures to drugs or alcohol can have developmental effects on teens. Quite apart from substance abuse that can affect development in the brain, teens who are exposed to abusive environment face traumas that can alter their
Alcohol impairs the ability to encode and recall from many elements of memory and interrupts how the intoxicated individual’s function.
It was a typical Monday morning as I drove home from work, exhausted from having to perform more than twenty four hours of duty. Windows down, Oakley sunglasses adorn my tiresome face to block the shimmer of sunlight from my sensitive eyes. Anxiously looking forward to the softness of my pillow, I pushed the accelerator to the floor propelling my car into overdrive. Zipping by the night club Area 151 was when I notice him lying on the ground, motionless. With tires screeching I quickly came to unrehearsed stop, the rush of adrenaline and flashes of my military training captivated my mind, transferring me into autopilot. As I ran over to his location yelling “hey buddy are you ok” following the ABC’s of first aid, I could not help but notice the large pool of blood from the deep laceration on his face, the twisted front wheel of his bicycle, and a strong stench of alcohol coming from his liquor stained John Sport backpack. “All my beers are broken” was all he muttered as he fell trying to get regain his footing, relieved that the fellow was alive I immediately called the police. As I spoke to the paramedics on the situation I could not help but ask myself “how could someone be so intoxicated at this time
Not much is known about how alcohol develops the adolescent brain but it can be concluded that a variety of negative side effects will be attached. Research shows that brain development continues well into a person’s twenties (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, "Underage Drinking”). Alcohol can affect this development, and contribute to a range of problems.
The problem of alcohol use is very relevant nowadays. Today alcohol consumption characterized by vast numbers in the world. All of society is suffering from this, but primarily jeopardized the younger generation: children, teenagers, young people, and the health of future mothers. Because alcohol is particularly active effect on the body that are not formed, gradually destroying it. The harm of alcohol abuse is evident. It is proved that when alcohol is ingested inside the body, it is carried by blood to all organs and has harmful effect on them until destruction. Systematic use of alcohol develops a dangerous disease such as alcoholism. Alcoholism is dangerous to human health, but it is curable as other diseases. The big problem is that most of the alcohol products which are made in private places contain many toxic substances, defective products often leads to poisoning and even death. All this has negative impact on society and its cultural values.