Lesson 29: Alcohol and You - Slide  37





Alcohol And The Adolescent’s Brain
- The brain does not finish developing until a person is in their mid twenties
- The last area to develop is the frontal lobe (behind your forehead), the area responsible for the ability to plan and to make judgments
- Young brains have rich resources for acquiring new memories and are built to learn
- The memory capacity is at risk of damage with alcohol use
- Adolescents who drink heavily impair the brain functions they rely on to learn
- Studies show the young brain is more vulnerable to damage from heavy drinking, particularly binge drinking
Notes:
Pg. 52, “Buzzed, The Straight Facts About The Most Used And Abused Drugs From Alcohol To Ecstasy, Second Edition” Cynthia Kuhn, Ph.D., Scott Swartzwelder,Ph.D. and Wilkie Wilson, Ph.D., W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 2003