Affects of Drug use on adolecense

High levels of drinking among adolescents are particularly troubling given recent evidence that, in contrast to long-held assumptions, a tremendous amount of structural and functional brain development takes place during the teenage years (Geidd et al., 1999; for r

1) Increase in time spent with peers, decrease in time spent with family

Despite an intense and costly war on drugs, substance use among adolescents in the United States has generally risen during the past decade after declining in the late 1980’s (please see the chart below). Use of tobacco, marijuana, cocaine and heroin all increased between 1991 and 1999 (Kann et al., 2000; Johnston et al., 2001). In 2000, heroin use was the highest it had been in 25 years, and use of ecstasy nearly doubled from 6% in 1996 to 11% (Johnston et al., 2001). To make matters worse, the purity of both cocaine and heroin has risen considerably in the past decade while the prices of these and other drugs have fallen (ONDCP, 2001). Increases in use and changes in purity have contributed to a sharp rise in emergency room visits related to drug use (DAWN, 2001).

In addition to the changes listed above, we now know that there are a variety of neurobiological changes that take place during the adolescent age range. These changes will be reviewed below. Some researchers have begun to incorporate these neurobiological changes into their definitions of adolescence (e.g., Spear, 2000a,b).

Under any circumstances, increases in the abusive use of drugs among adolescence should be troubling. Findings from recent neurobiological studies make these surges in use a serious cause for concern. As summarized above, it has recently become clear that, in contrast to previous assumptions, there is a tremendous amount of brain development taking place during adolescence. We will now discuss evidence that 1) alcohol, and perhaps other drugs, affect both behavior and brain function differently in adolescents than adults, and 2) adolescents may be more vulnerable to the long-term effects of alcohol abuse.

It is well known that alcohol produces learning and memory impairments. These effects are reviewed in detail on a separate page (click here). Briefly, alcohol primarily interferes with the establishment of new memories rather than the recollection of previously stored information. Alcohol produces what Ryback (1971) referred to as a continuum of encoding deficits. That is, as the dose of alcohol goes up, the magnitude of the memory impairments go up, as well. For instance, while a few drinks might make it more difficult for you to learn a new person's name, a bunch of drinks might completely impair your ability to remember ever having met the person at all. The inability to remember entire events that occurred while drinking is commonly referred to as a blackout (click here for more about blackouts).

Some topics in this essay:
Linda Spear, LSD Johnston, Monitoring Future, Becker Hale, et al, Introduction Adolescence, et al 2001, johnston et al, johnston et, al 2001, brain function, brain development, matter volumes, al 1999, gray matter volumes, adolescents adults, gray matter, effects alcohol, et al 1999, behavior brain function, ,