Adolescents and Alcohol Project – Follow-up Study

Adolescent and Alcohol Project

Alcohol use in adolescence interferes with normal brain development. Thus, the detrimental effects of alcohol use might not manifest until adulthood. Previous findings from the Adolescent and Alcohol Project suggested that even without a clinical substance use disorder, binge drinking from adolescence alters the structure and functioning of the brain in healthy young adults. More research is needed to explore how changing drinking behavior in young adults affects brain structure and functioning. This research might help to identify risk factors for alcohol use disorder. The aims of our research are to:

– Further investigate the progression and permanency of alterations in brain structure and functioning

– Investigate brain connectivity and excitability characteristics preceding alcohol use disorder

– Compare acute alcohol intake and exposure-induced alterations in brain connectivity and excitability among binge drinkers and non-binge drinkers/teetotalers