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Binge Drinking Matters--To Your Brain
17 Comments I’m sure you’ve heard that abusing alcohol hurts your health. But how many years of drinking do you think it takes to visibly affect your brain? Ten years? Twenty?
It turns out that it doesn’t take that long at all—in fact, scientists can already see changes in the brains of teenagers who drink.
In a new research study
, Professor Susan Tapert of the University of California at San Diego used an imaging machine called an MRI to scan the brains of teens who binge drink—defined as drinking 4 or 5 (or more) drinks in a couple of hours. Dr. Tapert found that the “white matter” in their brains—the part that transmits signals, like a television cable or a computer USB cord—was abnormal when compared with the white matter of teens who don’t binge drink. Transmitting signals is a big part of what the brain does, so affecting the white matter in this way could also affect thinking, learning, and memory.
The really scary part is that these teens weren’t alcoholics, and they didn’t drink every day. All they did (to be considered “binge drinkers”) was drink at least four (for women) or five (for men) drinks in one sitting, at least one time during the previous three months.
How could it be possible for just a few sessions of heavy drinking to affect the white matter of the brain? Well, science has shown that alcohol can poison brain cells and can alter the brain’s white matter in adult alcoholics. Dr. Tapert thinks that teenagers’ brains are even more susceptible this way. She says, “because the brain is still developing during adolescence, there has been concern that it may be more vulnerable to high doses of alcohol.”
This figure from Dr. Tapert’s paper shows a series of MRI scans of a human brain. The scans are like slices through a brain from bottom (top left) to top (bottom right), moving across the rows from left to right. The red dots mark specific places in the brain’s white matter where Dr. Tapert’s team saw differences between teens who binge drink and those who don’t.
Many questions still remain, including how long it takes before these changes occur, and how much they affect the function of the brain. To figure this out, scientists would have to look at the binge drinkers’ brains before and after they started drinking. That way, they can tell if the differences might have already been there before the teens started drinking. It’s possible that having abnormal white matter in the brain somehow increases the chance of being a binge drinker. In order to answer that question, Dr. Tapert says they need to do longer studies that follow teens’ brain growth over time.
The bottom line? If you’re a teen, drinking to the point of getting drunk could damage the white matter of your brain—even if you do it only once in a while.
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Find out more through the following resources:
- SAMHSA Fact Sheet on Binge Drinking
- NIH Fact Sheet on Underage Drinking
- USCD News Release: Binge Drinking May Hamper Information Relay System in Teen Brain
- Dr. Tapert’s Study: Altered White Matter Integrity in Adolescent Binge Drinkers
- NIAAA’s Rethinking Drinking Web page
Hi !
A properly functioning brain and nervous system is important for physical, mental, and emotional health, and white matter integrity is essential for the efficient relay of information within the brain, spinal cord, and the rest of the body. Teens who binge drink may be compromising the integrity of the white matter in the brain and this can affect thinking and memory, even lowering school performance.
With Regards
Amrita
http://www.quality-web-solutions.com
Given that liars are more likely to have high levels of white matter (”Prefrontal white matter in pathological liars” The British Journal of Psychiatry (2005) 187: 320-325), isn’t it possible that the teens with higher white matter who *said* they didn’t binge drink were BSing the researchers?
Hey Becca,
Yes, it is possible in any study that participants will not be completely honest with the researchers; however, researchers are aware of this possibility and design their studies to take that into account–so they can get the most accurate results possible. Thanks for your question.
Is addiction a disease or a human failure? Should addiction be funded and treated as a disease? Become a fan to share your thoughts and see what others are saying. http://www.facebook.com/isaddictionadisease
Thanks for your comment, Phil. To answer your question, addiction is not a human failure or a moral shortcoming. It is a disease and should be treated, so that those who suffer from it can recover and go on to lead normal lives. Research shows that drug abuse and addiction lead to long-term changes in the brain, which cause addicted drug users to lose the ability to control their drug use. This compulsive drug seeking and use despite the often devastating consequences is what makes drug addiction a disease. Although there is no cure for drug addiction, it is treatable, and addicted people can recover. Treatments can include medications along with programs of behavior change that slowly retrain the brain. For more, see http://teens.drugabuse.gov/facts/facts_brain2.php.
How can you explain to me that it is socially acceptable and legal to drink alcohol a substance that kills thousands, when it is not socially acceptable and illegal to smoke marijuana a substance thats never killed and isn’t addictive?
Hi John, actually research shows that marijuana is the main illegal drug detected in those who are killed in car crashes. Studies conducted in several different locations found that up to 14 percent (or about 1 in 7) drivers who were injured or died in traffic accidents tested positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Someone who’s been smoking pot or doing other drugs has slower reflexes and so can’t respond as well in an emergency. See this InfoFact sheet on Drugged Driving for more…
I think that it is very wrong how bottle shops and pubs are allowed to advertise alcohol. A drug that can do so much harm should at least be treated the same way as tobacco products. What do you think?
The health dangers of alcohol are well-known, even if not talked about as much as tobacco. Here’s what the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism says:
Alcohol is a powerful drug that slows down the body and mind. It impairs coordination; slows reaction time; and impairs vision, clear thinking, and judgment.
Beer and wine are not “safer” than hard liquor. A 12-ounce can of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, and 1.5 ounces of hard liquor all contain the same amount of alcohol and have the same effects on the body and mind.
On average, it takes 2 to 3 hours for a single drink to leave a person’s system. Nothing can speed up this process, including drinking coffee, taking a cold shower, or “walking it off.”
People tend to be very bad at judging how seriously alcohol has affected them. That means many individuals who drive after drinking think they can control a car—but actually cannot.
Anyone can develop a serious alcohol problem, including a teenager. Check out http://www.thecoolspot.gov/ for more info. –SBB
Teens alcohol abuse is a serious concern and problem for parents as well as for society, as the growth and development of a country depends on its productive youth. Apart from serious health effects of binge drinking, accompanied there are other serious issues inter-related like, drinking and driving, sexual assault, suicidal risk, high risk sex etc. check in detail here.. http://www.teendrugabuse.us/teensandalcohol.html
It is so important to find the right treatment program for your teen if they are struggling with alcoholism or drug addiction. There are a number of fine facilities in California that treat the individual and his or her family during this challenging time.
I find the information very encouraging here, however I myself have been a binge drinker of heavy alcohol for a good year and a half. Although I do admit noticing changes in wit, and retension of information, I have to say that the affects of alcohol when recognized for what they truely are, are not as harmful as made out to be. I’ve operated an automobile on numerous occasions with more than 4 shots of whiskey in me. I realize this is a personal account and does not refelct the average person’s ability or effort to operate a vehicle under the influence, but i find that a stern amount of will power among even the most intoxicated accounts i have ever induced, will be controlable. I think the real problem with alcohol is that when intoxicated people tend to ease off of their better judgment given the sense of frivolity is around. I’m just speaking from accounts of my own experience. I myself have no trouble functioning while under the influence of 5-10 shots, at least never dangerously so. I realize proloning such activites will ultimatley lead to a plumit of cognitive abilities in a person and I wouldn’t advice following in my steps. I’m tryin to live a sober life og happiness and find that it is perhaps easier to live in such a manner opposed to masking old haunting problems with the haze of the drink. I am 140 pounds 5′5″. So you can see from those stats that I don’t exactly carry a natural resistance to alcohol, incase the curiosity had crossed anyone’es mind. Anyway thanks for the read.
The Drug Abuse Treatment Facility Locator on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s webpage offers a selection of treatment centers in CA and nationwide.
Hey Honestjoe, it seems from what you say that you have noticed some effects of your binge drinking on how your brain works, but you may be less aware of how your judgment and decision-making are affected. So although you may think you can use willpower to control your driving after binge drinking, you may not be able to deal with things that require you to react quickly, so that you don’t run into someone or something. You’ve been really lucky so far that you haven’t hurt yourself or anyone else, or gotten arrested. But I do hope you get to the sobriety and happiness you’re looking for, and that you will not risk your life or others’ lives by drinking and driving from now on.
so what do thos red dots meen? is that the alcohol effects that are happining to your brain?
@sterling–the red dots mark the places where this researcher saw differences in the brain’s white matter between teens who binge drink and those who don’t. Because younger brains are still developing, they may be more vulnerable to high doses of alcohol–but of course we need more research to understand what the abnormal white matter means to brain functioning, like thinking, learning, memory, etc.
I hated this paragraph it was no help at alll