The effects of peri-adolescent alcohol use on the developing hippocampus.
Adolescence is a period of continued brain development. Regions of the brain, such as the hippocampus, continue to undergo refinement and maturation throughout adolescence and into early adulthood. Adolescence is also a time of heightened sensitivity to novelty and reward, which contribute to an increase in risk-taking behaviors including the use of drugs and alcohol. Importantly, binge drinking is highly prevalent among adolescents and emerging adults. The hippocampus which is important for the integration of emotion, reward, homeostasis, and memory is particularly vulnerable to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol. In this chapter, we cover the fundamentals of hippocampal neuroanatomy and the current state of knowledge of the acute and chronic effects of ethanol in adolescent humans and adolescent rodent models. We focus on the hippocampal-dependent behavioral, structural, and neurochemical changes and identify knowledge gaps in our understanding of age-dependent neurobiological effects of alcohol use.
Duke Scholars
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Related Subject Headings
- Underage Drinking
- Neurology & Neurosurgery
- Humans
- Hippocampus
- Ethanol
- Adolescent
- 5202 Biological psychology
- 3209 Neurosciences
- 1702 Cognitive Sciences
- 1701 Psychology
Citation
DOI
Publication Date
Volume
Start / End Page
Related Subject Headings
- Underage Drinking
- Neurology & Neurosurgery
- Humans
- Hippocampus
- Ethanol
- Adolescent
- 5202 Biological psychology
- 3209 Neurosciences
- 1702 Cognitive Sciences
- 1701 Psychology