Aims

To support the free and open dissemination of research findings and information on alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. To encourage open access to peer-reviewed articles free for all to view.

For full versions of posted research articles readers are encouraged to email requests for "electronic reprints" (text file, PDF files, FAX copies) to the corresponding or lead author, who is highlighted in the posting.

___________________________________________

Thursday, August 9, 2012

News Release - Brain activity may predict teens’ heavy drinking




Heavy drinking is known to affect teenagers’ developing brains, but certain patterns of brain activity may also help predict which kids are at risk of becoming problem drinkers, according to a study in the September issue of the Journal of
Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.


Using special MRI scans, researchers looked at 40 12- to 16-year-olds who had not started drinking yet, then followed them for about 3 years and scanned them again. Half of the teens started to drink alcohol fairly heavily during this interval. The investigators found that kids who had initially showed less activation in certain brain
areas were at greater risk for becoming heavy drinkers in the next three years.
> > > > Read More