Alcohol Awareness Month 2021.....We Revisit A PSA We Did in 2014

For Alcohol awareness moth we decided to revisit a PSA we did in 2014 about the effects of alcohol and the developing brain. As statistics have shown Alcohol affects the developing brain of a minor differently than that of an adult and the effects of alcohol use by young people can have damaging life long effects.

Alcohol consumption during this developmental period may have profound effects on brain structure and function. Heavy drinking has been shown to affect the neuropsychological performance (e.g., memory functions) of young people and may impair the growth and integrity of certain brain structures. Furthermore, alcohol consumption during adolescence may alter measures of brain functioning, such as blood flow in certain brain regions and electrical brain activities. Not all adolescents and young adults are equally sensitive to the effects of alcohol consumption, however. Moderating factors—such as family history of alcohol and other drug use disorders, gender, age at onset of drinking, drinking patterns, use of other drugs, and co-occurring psychiatric disorders—may influence the extent to which alcohol consumption interferes with an adolescent’s normal brain development and functioning.