Rough Night? The Hangover Should be the Least of Your Worries

In this day and age, alcohol is considered the most abused substance with 51.8 percent of Americans identified as drinkers. That number is even greater when college students are used as the demographic, topping the charts at 69 percent. What's troubling is that half of those students claim to partake in binge drinking. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, this type of drinking pattern is defined as raising the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over 0.08 percent by consuming upwards of five or upwards of four drinks within two hours by a male or female respectively. Recent studies have shown that such behavior leads to long term effects for the adolescents, effects beyond the dreaded hangover.

Pertaining to those of 18 to 24 years of age, magnetic resonance has shown that the brains of these scholars are still developing. Specifically, changes are made for cognitive improvement through the early 20's and executive functioning is being fine-tuned. Interested in the neurodevelopment of adolescent brains, Magdalena Szymanska, from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, has performed longitudinal studies of the effects of binge drinking on adolescent rats. The critters were injected with enough alcohol to reach the respective BAC associated with binging. One month later, as adults, these same rats were shown to have abnormally high levels of corticosterone, a stress hormone equivalent to cortisol found in humans. This hormone is triggered in response to a stressful situation, responsible for that moment of panic when staring at a blank test or when first arriving at a job interview. This phenomenon is associated with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adenal (HPA) axis in the brain in which her research shows that the expression of two hormone peptides, arginine-vassopressin (AVP) and corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), are elevated. These peptides further stimulate the production of cortisol, leading to the results described. Although cortisol is a necessary hormone is maintaining homeostasis, the elevated levels in the HPA axis are correlated with an increased risk of mood disorders such as anxiety and depression later in life.

Interaction of HPA axis in the release of cortisol

To make matters worse, Szymanska further studied the effects of adolescent binge drinking in the offspring of such parents. It is important to note that the offspring were not directly exposed to any level of alcohol in order to determine if the long term effects would be transmitted through parental gametes. It was found that methylation patterns in the expression of the two peptides was affected in the offspring, suggesting an increased expression of CRH and AVP in the next generation. The extent of gene methylation varied between male and female pups, having a greater impact on males. The reason for such sex-specific effects was unknown. However, it can be inferred that the elevation of CRH and AVP predisposes the offspring to developing mood disorders as well. 

Recently, studies from the University of Santiago de Compostela analyzed the effects of adolescent binge drinking on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. 122 university students, of which 62 and 60 were binge-drinkers and nonbinge-drinkers respectively, performed the "Backward Digit Span Test" aimed at measuring verbal working memory. Each student was read a sequence of numbers and then asked to repeat the order in reverse, a task that involves the executive functioning of the prefrontal cortex. Since this region is still undergoing development during the adolescent period, those who engaged in binge drinking scored significantly lower than the control group, further highlighting the lasting effects of the drinking pattern.

Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex

The time spent in college can be considered the most decisive years of your life as you decide what major to pursue and what career path to follow. The combination of the research studies only further adds to the pile of decisions to make. Are the nights of reckless drinking worth the long term developmental effects on the brain and do they justify the impact that may result on your offspring?

 Sources:

Parada, M, M Corral, N Mota, A Crego, Holguín S. Rodríguez, and F Cadaveira. "Executive Functioning and Alcohol Binge Drinking in University Students." Addictive Behaviors. 37.2 (2012): 167-72. Print. 

Sneider JT, Cohen-Gilbert JE, Crowley DJ, Paul MD, Silveri MM. "Differential Effects of Binge Drinking on Learning and Memory in Emerging Adults." Addiction Research and Therapy. S7:006 (2013)

"College Drinking." National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). N.p., 2013. Web. <http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/special-populations-co-occurring-disorders/college-drinking>.

 "Fact Sheets - Binge Drinking." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 07 Nov. 2012. Web. <http://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/binge-drinking.htm>.

"The Physiology of Stress: Cortisol and the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis." DUJS Online. N.p., 3 Feb. 2011. Web. <http://dujs.dartmouth.edu/fall-2010/the-physiology-of-stress-cortisol-and-the-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis>.

Alcohol and College Students Drinking Fact Sheet." N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.alcohol101plus.org/downloads/CollegeStudents.pdf>

Przybicen-Szymanska MM, Mott NN, Paul CR, Gillespie RA, Pak TR (2011) Binge Pattern Alcohol Exposure during Puberty Induces Long-Term Changes in HPA Axis Reactivity. PLoS ONE 6(4): e18350 doi:10.137/journal.pone.0018350