Excessive alcohol consumption can have multiple adverse effects on the human brain including detrimental effects to the body. The stakes are even higher when consuming alcohol at a young age because adolescents are still undergoing both physical and psychological changes, such as prefrontal brain development. However, the prevalence of alcohol use among adolescents in the United States continues to increase year after year. Unfortunately, this places alcohol in the top three preventable causes of death in the United States, as stated by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism: “An estimated 88,0008 people (approximately 62,000 men and 26,000 women) die from alcohol-related causes annually.” Alcohol consumption is a nationwide public health issue that highlights the impulsivity, poor decision-making, and risky behavior, such as binge drinking, that many adolescents choose to take part in.
While it is known that alcohol impacts both our physical and psychological growth, researchers continue to explore the connections between alcohol consumption and the human brain and behavior. Dr. Jaime Roitman presented her interest in adolescent alcohol consumption and possible effects to the prefrontal cortex and human behavior. Excessive alcohol consumption deteriorates an individual’s cognitive and emotional processes due to damage of the frontal lobe of the brain which is responsible for judgment making and impulse control. Roitman and her colleagues studied the potential risks of alcohol on prefrontal cortex by providing “jello shots” to adolescent animals and examining their preferences. It concluded, “regardless of potential variability in innate alcohol preferences, voluntary consumption of alcohol during adolescence biases choice patterns longitudinally through alterations in cortical function” (McMurray, Amodeo, & Roitman, 2016). With that being said, even moderate alcohol consumption increases the animal’s risk preference in both adolescence and adulthood which affected the prefrontal cortex in adulthood.
The article, “Alcohol can rewire the teenage brain,” emphasizes the relationship between teenagers and alcohol consumption which can be related to Roitman’s findings. Early on drinking forms habits that make it easier when adolescents are of age. In the article, Dr. Siqueira states, “the younger they start, the more likely they are to continue to drink and to drink large amounts…’ Teens who binge drink are more likely to become alcoholics” (Haelle, 2016). It is no surprise that social factors, such as peer pressure, play a part in a young adult’s life, however, it is important our education system highlights the life-long risks that are being presented in Roitman’s research and many others in order to stop this vicious cycle from further expanding. Alcohol is a GABA agonist which inhibits many our neurological functions such as decision making, and it temporarily boosts neurotransmitters in our brain that induce euphoric effects.
Works Cited
“Alcohol Facts and Statistics.” National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Aug. 2018,
Haelle, Tara. “Alcohol can rewire the teenage brain.” Science News for Students, 5 Oct. 2015,
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