Learning to Drink
Predicting behavior A new study also suggests that the earlier a person starts drinking, the stronger those connections may become.
they are to use more than one illicit substance, and they’re also more likely to develop an addiction.
changes the brain from
delay, the closer you are to 21, the less likely you are to be alcohol dependent or dependent on other substances.”
“ Drugs of abuse basically hijack the normal learning and memory processes. ” - Dr. Dorit Ron University of California - San Francisco
“ Alcohol consumption among youth doesn’t occur in a vacuum. ” - Dr. Adam Barry, Texas A&M University
Preventing escalation
Curbing use Researchers acknowledge there’s
One drink is all it takes.
establish a relationship between initial use and addiction, or even problematic drinking. But the hope is that further understanding initially could lead to better down the road. “If we can control that step, we may be able to prevent further escalation,” Dr. Ron says. More research is needed to determine which other components alcohol exposure. Dr. Ron says she believes the changes that occur reversed with prolonged abstinence from alcohol. But she said the more a person drinks, the harder it is to reverse those changes as the brain forms stronger connections to drinking.
strategies that prevent drug use and then applying those in an alcohol setting.” kind is still a good predictor of behavior later in life. To combat problematic drinking, Dr. Barry says educators need to address all factors of a child’s life, not just the substance itself. In keeping with new guidelines from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Dr. Barry and his team recommend beginning substance education as early as third grade. “Alcohol consumption among youth doesn’t occur in a vacuum,” Dr. Barry says. “It’s really just
A team from the University of California - San Francisco exposed mice
brain’s biological structure, calling the changes a “learning event.”
researchers. “You are basically placing a memory trace.” Dr. Ron says the entire study was based on the idea that “addiction, and not just alcohol addiction, is thought to be a maladaptive form of alcohol primes the brain for further use and lays the foundation for future “learning.” “Drugs of abuse basically hijack the normal learning and memory
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