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MACOMB, IL – A researcher says adolescents who have a high tolerance for alcohol might damage their brain's development.
Dr. Linda Spear studies the effects of alcohol and drugs on adolescents at the State University of New York-Binghampton. She said new research reveals the adolescent brain undergoes a series of changes. She said the adolescent brain loses gray matter but increases the amount of white matter as it "rewires" itself for adulthood.
Spear said, "They (adolescents) may not really realize how much alcohol they have on board as their brains become less sensitive in many areas to the effect of alcohol. They may drink enough that then the alcohol is acting on other brain regions and disrupting the plasticity of those brain regions."
Spear worries adolescents are risking long-term alcohol problems. She said adolescents who can tolerate a high level of alcohol might, mistakenly, think they are immune to long-term effects. She said that is clearly not the case.
She said research is looking at the specific ways alcohol consumption can disrupt the development of the adolescent brain.
Spear recently spoke at Western Illinois University.