Editorial:Adolescent brain and alcohol

Binge drinking is prevalent during adolescence and has been shown to increase the susceptibility to adult psychiatric and substance use disorders (Crews et al., 2019; Tapert and Eberson-Shumate, 2022). Adolescence is a critical period for brain maturation, during which several molecular and cellular changes including epigenetic changes take place, leading to synaptic remodeling and pruning (Kyzar et al., 2016; Crews et al., 2019; Tapert and Eberson-Shumate, 2022). Several clinical and preclinical studies (Kyzar et al., 2016; Crews et al., 2019; Tapert and Eberson-Shumate, 2022) in the field clearly suggest that adolescent drinking has long-lasting influences on molecular functioning, brain connectivity, and associated behavioral vulnerability in adulthood (Figure 1). The manuscript and review articles collected in this Research Topic of “Adolescent Brain and Alcohol” have summarized recent developments in the field that further advance our understanding of the neurobiology of adult psychopathology after adolescent alcohol exposure.

Figure 1: Adolescent alcohol exposure modulates transcriptomic and epigenomic changes leading to altered synaptic and neuroimmune imbalance and abnormal brain structural changes including brain connectivity. These changes together may drive the adult psychopathology after adolescent alcohol exposure.

This Research Topic contains two clinical studies. The first, presented by May et al., provided several interesting findings. First, 24% of 9–10-year-olds in the community sample reported having had at least one sip of alcohol, and had done so 4 times on average, with some as many as 260 times, and had their first sip typically at age 7 (SD = 1.91). Most (76%) alcohol sipping was outside of religious ceremony contexts. Second, support vector machine learning determined that neural activity in brain reward and cognitive control areas (nucleus accumbens and inferior frontal gyrus) was no better than chance at identifying which youth reported alcohol sipping at Time one but was reasonably accurate (76%) when combined with baseline sipping behavior to predict drinking status at Time 2, even after controlling for demographic factors. These studies suggest that improving our understanding of the neural and behavioral factors that convey propensity for future substance use is crucial for identifying at-risk youth and targets for prevention. The second clinical study, presented by Lorkiewicz et al., found that 16% in a community cohort of adolescents and young adults had at least one alcohol-related blackout, and most who did had more than one, with durations exceeding 1 h. Latent growth curve modeling found that having had one or more alcohol-related blackouts was linked to attenuated performance over time on a memory for faces task, which was worse yet when alcohol intake was more frequent, above and beyond effects of age, sex, race, socioeconomic status, and assessment site, and in a model that accounted for repeated testing. Results suggest that alcohol-related blackouts appear to predict lasting changes in visual learning and memory, particularly of a facial nature, suggesting that memory for faces is sensitive to heavy alcohol use and that the late-adolescent/emerging adult brain is vulnerable to alcohol-related blackouts.

This Research Topic also contains five manuscripts that discuss the lasting impact of adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE) on adult brains by using an underage drinking model in rodents. The review article by Macht et al. covers fetal and adolescent brain development and the impact of alcohol, particularly increases in proinflammatory signaling that modulate cholinergic neurons and hippocampal neurogenesis contributing to lasting pathology in adulthood. Ethanol and stress exposure studies find neuroimmune signaling causes persistent changes that can be reversed. The study described by Gomez et al. use fcMRI to show that AIE disrupts adult synchrony between brain networks related to deficits in behavioral flexibility, extending studies indicating that AIE causes long-lasting changes in adult executive prefrontal cortical functions. Interestingly, studies find fcMRI reductions within a subnetwork of affected brain regions statistically mediated errors committed during reversal learning. These results provide a novel link between persistent reductions in fcMRI brain functional connectivity and adult deficits in behavioral flexibility resulting from AIE. Interestingly, these learning deficits are extended in the studies by Barnett et al. that find AIE accelerates age-related onset of Alzheimer’s disease pathology in a mouse model due to proinflammatory gene induction that can be prevented by blocking microglial activation with minocycline.

Towner et al., investigated the effects of AIE on neuronal activation and social preference using cFos-LacZ transgenic rats and found that AIE produces sex-specific social impairments that are potentially driven by differential neuronal activation states in regions important for social behavior, including the medial prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortices, nucleus accumbens, lateral septum, and central amygdala. Another study published by Chandler et al. investigated the effects of AIE on conditioned fear learning and memory in adulthood in rats. They demonstrated sex-specific changes in conditioned fear behaviors that are reversible by pharmacological interventions (mGlu5 positive allosteric modulator CDPPB) targeting mGlu5 receptor activation. In one manuscript included in this Research Topic, studies conducted by Barney et al. focus on the effects of acute ethanol exposure on the expression of growth factors and microRNA expression profiling in dorsal hippocampus of adolescent and adult rats. They concluded that acute ethanol rapidly induced neuroimmune gene expression that was associated with changes in growth factors, in addition to decreasing the expression of several miRNA species in the hippocampus.

Together, these studies emphasized that adolescent alcohol exposure has several negative consequences ranging from molecular to neuronal to circuitry and later, behavioral responses in adulthood. These studies summarize emerging developments in the field’s effort to pinpoint alcohol’s role in adolescent brain producing rapid and long-lasting impacts on neurobiology in adulthood and increasing vulnerability to adult psychopathology including development of alcohol use disorder.

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Editorial: Adolescent Brain and Alcohol

Introduction

Adolescent binge drinking is a prevalent issue that increases susceptibility to psychiatric and substance use disorders in adulthood. This review of the research on this topic investigates the neurobiological consequences of adolescent alcohol exposure on adult psychopathology.

Clinical Studies

• May et al. found that 24% of 9-10-year-olds had consumed alcohol, with neural activity in reward and cognitive control areas predicting future drinking behavior.

• Lorkiewicz et al. discovered that alcohol-related blackouts were linked to impaired memory for faces, particularly with frequent alcohol intake.

Preclinical Studies

• Macht et al. reviewed the impact of alcohol on fetal and adolescent brain development, highlighting the role of proinflammatory signaling in lasting adult pathology.

• Gomez et al. demonstrated that adolescent intermittent ethanol (AIE) disrupts brain network synchrony, leading to deficits in behavioral flexibility.

• Barnett et al. found that AIE accelerates Alzheimer's disease pathology due to proinflammatory gene induction.

• Towner et al. observed sex-specific social impairments in rats exposed to AIE, potentially driven by differential neuronal activation in social behavior regions.

• Chandler et al. investigated sex-specific changes in conditioned fear behaviors after AIE, which were reversible with pharmacological interventions targeting mGlu5 receptors.

• Barney et al. examined the effects of acute ethanol exposure on growth factor and microRNA expression in the hippocampus of adolescent and adult rats.

Conclusion

These studies highlight the significant negative consequences of adolescent alcohol exposure on molecular, neuronal, circuitry, and behavioral responses in adulthood. They advance our understanding of the neurobiology of adult psychopathology following adolescent alcohol exposure, emphasizing the vulnerability of the developing brain to alcohol's long-lasting impacts.

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How Alcohol Affects the Teenage Brain

Introduction

Drinking alcohol is common among teenagers, and it can have serious consequences for their developing brains. During adolescence, the brain is still maturing and changing, making it particularly vulnerable to the effects of alcohol.

Clinical Studies

Two studies in this research collection looked at the effects of alcohol on young people:

• One study found that many children as young as 9 had tried alcohol, and some had even had hundreds of sips. This early exposure to alcohol can increase the risk of future substance abuse.

• Another study showed that teenagers who experienced alcohol-related blackouts had worse memory for faces over time, suggesting that heavy alcohol use can damage the brain's ability to learn and remember.

Animal Studies

Five studies using rodents investigated the long-term effects of alcohol exposure during adolescence:

• Alcohol can disrupt brain development and increase inflammation, leading to problems in adulthood.

• Alcohol can affect the connections between different brain regions, leading to problems with decision-making and flexibility.

• Alcohol can increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease later in life.

• Alcohol can affect social behavior by altering brain activity in areas involved in social interaction.

• Alcohol can change the expression of genes and molecules in the brain, leading to rapid and lasting effects.

Conclusion

These studies show that alcohol exposure during adolescence can have serious consequences for the brain and behavior in adulthood. It is important to educate teenagers about the risks of alcohol use and to provide support for those who may be struggling with alcohol abuse.

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Teen Drinking and the Brain

The brain changes and develops a lot during the teenage years. Drinking too much alcohol as a teen can have long-term consequences for mental health and brain function.

What Teen Drinking Does to Your Brain

The brain is like a construction site during your teenage years. It grows a lot as a person transitions from a child to an adult. When a teen drinks alcohol, it can disrupt this construction process. It can change the brain cells communicate, make it harder to learn and remember things, and even damage your brain.

Long-Term Effects of Teen Drinking

The damage that teenage drinking does to the brain can last a long time. Studies have shown that people who started drinking heavily as teens are more likely to:

• Have problems with memory and attention

• Struggle with decision-making and problem-solving

• Develop alcohol use disorder (alcoholism)

• Have mental health problems like anxiety and depression

What the Research Says

Researchers have done a lot of studies on teen drinking and the brain. Here are some of the key findings:

• Even small amounts of alcohol can affect the developing brain.

• Drinking alcohol can disrupt the connections between different parts of the brain.

• Teenagers who drink heavily are more likely to have problems with their memory and learning abilities later in life.

• Alcohol can increase the risk of developing mental health problems in adulthood.

Conclusion

These studies show the many long-term problems that can be caused by teenage drinking. It's important that teens learn about the risks of drinking too young, and that adults help teens make healthy choices for the future.

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The Teen Brain and Alcohol

Drinking alcohol as a teenager can have a big impact on the brain, even when teens grow up. That's because the brain grows and changes a lot during your teenage years, and drinking alcohol can disrupt that growth.

When you drink alcohol, it can change the way your brain works. It can make it harder to think clearly, remember things, and control your behavior. It can also make you more likely to get into trouble or have accidents.

Some studies have shown that teenagers who drink alcohol are more likely to have problems with mental health and addiction later in life.

What the Studies Say

• A study found that even kids as young as 9 or 10 have tried alcohol.

• Another study showed that teenagers who have blackouts from drinking alcohol may have problems with their memory later on.

• Studies in animals have shown that drinking alcohol as a teenager can change the way the brain works and makes it more likely to have problems in adulthood.

• Drinking alcohol can also make it harder for your brain to fight off infections.

When scientists study the effects of alcohol on the brain, they can understand better how to help teenagers stay away from drinking too much.

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