Long-term effects on brain structure and function

Alcohol is deeply rooted in our cultures and habits, and in most Western countries alcohol enjoys a far more favorable legal status and social perception than other drugs due to its significant economic weight.

This is probably why teenagers consider it the safest drug they can take, even though it is the leading risk factor for premature death and disability in people ages 15 to 49 and myths such as “a glass of wine a day is good.” “Circulate Your Health” have been thoroughly debunked. This perception is only reinforced by its central role in many traditions and celebrations that associate it with social success.

Alcohol is the most commonly used drug among young people in Western countries. In Europe, around 8 out of 10 students aged 15 to 16 have had a drink in the last year. Even more worrying is the early age of alcohol consumption – 33% of under-13s in various European countries have already consumed alcohol – as well as the high rate of binge drinking, reported by 34% of 15-16 year olds in Europe last month.

Binge drinking, the most common form of alcohol consumption among 15- to 19-year-olds, involves consuming large amounts of alcohol in short periods of time: usually 5 or more drinks within 2 to 3 hours. This type of drinking is typical at teenage parties as well as on holidays and celebrations such as weddings, Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

saturation of the liver

Many of us are familiar with the negative consequences of alcohol consumption, such as arguments, risky sexual behavior or traffic accidents. However, fewer of us think about how a few binge drinks can affect the brain, especially when it’s still developing.

To understand these effects, we need to look at two key elements: how alcohol is metabolized and how it affects the developing adolescent brain.

Alcohol is metabolized primarily in the liver, which processes the drink after it is absorbed from the digestive tract. There, alcohol is broken down by various enzymes and converted into less toxic substances that the body can then excrete. When alcohol is not fully metabolized, it enters the brain and disrupts the delicate balance of neurotransmitters that regulate its function.

We can think of the liver as a sponge that absorbs alcohol. However, when saturated, it loses its ability to absorb and excrete, leading to the familiar effects of drunkenness: disinhibition, euphoria, lack of coordination, and so on.

Vulnerable teenage brains

Unfortunately, alcoholic beverages not only have temporary effects on the functioning of our brain, but also have long-term effects on various aspects of the nervous system and can also impair the immune system and trigger inflammatory processes that damage brain development.

It is important to note that the brain is most vulnerable to the effects of medications during its development – up to the age of 25-30. Alcohol is particularly harmful during this time because it can impair two important neurodevelopmental phenomena: myelination, the process by which neurons coat their axons with myelin to improve signal transmission, and synaptic pruning, which removes unnecessary neuronal connections to optimize brain function.

Additionally, these changes cause certain areas of the brain to mature earlier than others. Specifically, the areas responsible for reward processing (such as the ventral striatum) develop faster than those responsible for decision making and long-term planning (such as the prefrontal cortex). This mismatch between the development of the brain’s reward, impulse control and decision-making systems may explain why adolescents are more likely to engage in risky behavior.

Assessment of the damage

Neuroimaging studies have shown that the brains of young people who frequently binge drink are structurally and functionally different.

Among the most striking structural findings is the reduced integrity of white matter, an element of the nervous system that is crucial for the efficient transmission of information.

Changes in gray matter were also noted, with increases or decreases in areas such as the ventral striatum, anterior cingulate cortex, and medial frontal gyrus, which are critical for reward processing, monitoring important stimuli, and working memory.

In terms of functional connectivity – the way different areas of the brain interact – binge drinking is associated with abnormalities in the configuration of several networks, such as salience and/or frontoparietal networks. These direct our attention where it needs to be and regulate our behavior to achieve both short- and long-term goals.

Additionally, neuroimaging studies show excessive activation of brain structures involved in impulse control, decision making, and processing alcohol-related stimuli.

We need to emphasize the connection between the age at which alcohol consumption begins and later problems, which may include substance abuse, early-onset dementia or heart disease. The data is clear: the earlier someone starts drinking, the higher their risk of developing these diseases.

This highlights the fact that there is no such thing as a healthy dose of alcohol or harmless binge drinking. It is important that we pay particular attention to alcohol consumption among teenagers.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.