New research finds that binge-drinking during adolescence can trigger brain changes that influence certain behaviors during adulthood.
Using an animal model, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine showed that during adolescence, some parts of the brain are vulnerable to alcohol. This susceptibility may lead to genetic changes that can cause lasting behavioral effects.
Their findings are reported online in the journal Neurobiology of Disease.
“This may be the mechanism through which adolescent binge-drinking increases the risk for psychiatric disorders, including alcoholism, in adulthood,” says lead author Subhash Pandey.
Pandey and his colleagues used experimental rats to investigate the effects of intermittent alcohol exposure during the adolescent stage of development.
On-and-off exposure to alcohol during adolescence altered the activity of genes needed for normal brain maturation, said Pandey. The gene alterations “increased anxiety-like behaviors and preference for alcohol in adulthood,” he said.
[For more of this story, written by Rick Nauert, go to http://psychcentral.com/news/2015/04/03/in-rat-model-teen-drinking-alters-genes-that-influence-adult-behavior/83128.html]
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