What brain studies reveal about the risk of adolescent alcohol use and abuse

(Georgetown University Medical Center) What are the brain factors and behaviors that put teens at risk of alcohol use and abuse before they start drinking? Researchers explore this question in 4 abstracts from the Adolescent Development Study. One provides new evidence that adolescents at higher risk of alcoholism have reduced connections in key brain networks; another links impaired brain connections to impulsivity; and two examine impulsivity in relation to intake of sugar and DHA, an essentia...