Binge drinking during teenage years could lead to thinning of certain areas of the brain causing problems with memory and other serious health implications later in life suggests a study.
-As per a recent study conducted by the Oregon State University in the US, binge drinking is linked to shrinking of certain areas of the brain that are associated with memory, attention and language in teenagers. This, in turn, could lead to increased risk of developing alcohol use disorder later on in life.
-The researchers studied six parameters to determine the hazardous impact of heavy drinking on the brain in early years. These include response inhibition, working memory, verbal learning and memory, decision making and reward processing, alcohol cue reactivity, and socio-cognitive/socio-emotional processing,
-Teenage is a period where the brain is still undergoing biological and psychological behaviour development.
-Considering the fact that more and more teenagers are involved in binge drinking and heavy drinking, understanding the effects of consuming large quantities of alcohol on neural development and the impact on cognitive skills is very important.
-Binge or heavy episodic drinking is defined as four or more standard drinks within a two-hour drinking session for females and five or more drinks for males.
-As per the study, binge drinking among young people is associated with a thinning or reduction of areas of the brain that are known to play a key role in memory, attention, language, awareness and consciousness.
-This type of brain alteration in young life could lead to increased risk of alcohol use disorder in later years of life.
Source: Frontiers in Psychology Journal