Adolescent Brain & Alcohol Lecture

Last night I attended Karen Williams’ lecture on the effects of alcohol on adolescent brain development at the Decorah Middle School. I found her presentation to be very interesting and informative. According to Williams, the brain takes about 25 years to develop; the duration of brain development varies from person to person however and has been shown to take longer in males than females. Furthermore, the most sophisticated capacities of the brain such as ability to judge and identify risks, mediate conflict, choose between right and wrong, and exercise self-control, take the longest to develop. There are three peaks throughout a person’s life during which brain development peaks, these occur at the age ranges of 0-1, 1-6, and 12-18. At these stages, brain neurons are rapidly firing signals. If these signals are interrupted brain development is halted during that time which can have lasting consequences. Alcohol slows the brain’s activity and therefore it is crucial that adolescents do not consume it. The pre-frontal cortex and the Hippocampus are the parts of the brain undergoing the greatest development in the teen brain and therefore have the most rapid rate of firing between neurons. Interruption to these parts effects memory, which is the basis off new knowledge. Therefore the effects of interrupted brain development are not shown until later in life when learning cannot take hold, as new memories cannot be formed to hold and build upon new information received by the brain.

Williams also gave insight into the mood swings of teens, which research indicates may not be due to hormones but rather to be a result of the peak in brain development during the adolescent stage. Similarly the terrible twos land in one of the other peaks of development. In essence, the teens are crabby as a result of growing pains in the brain.

I found this information very interesting and essential. Having knowledge of how the brain develops is monumental. This information will aid in the understanding of developmental processes. Brain research is increasing our understanding of development. Knowing this information is crucial for educators, parents, and all people. It is important to know this and be able to protect childrens brains, especially during the most crucial periods of development.

To learn more about the research being done on brain development check out: http://www.loni.ucla.edu/~thompson/DEVEL/PR.html.