Teen Drinking: Brain Activity & Risk Factors
- A new study suggests that measuring brain network interactions could help identify adolescents at risk for problematic drinking.
- Alcohol use frequently enough begins and escalates during adolescence, a time when the brain is particularly vulnerable.
- Researchers in North Carolina explored whether brain network dynamics could predict drinking in adolescents.
Brain Network Activity May Predict Teen Drinking Habits
A new study suggests that measuring brain network interactions could help identify adolescents at risk for problematic drinking. The research, which examined the relationship between brain signals and future drinking behavior, highlights the potential for early intervention during a critical period of brain growth.
Alcohol use frequently enough begins and escalates during adolescence, a time when the brain is particularly vulnerable. Drinking can alter brain development, increasing the risk of alcohol use disorder (AUD).Understanding the factors that predispose some teens to heavier or more frequent alcohol use could lead to better prevention strategies.
Researchers in North Carolina explored whether brain network dynamics could predict drinking in adolescents. Their findings were published in Alcohol: Clinical & Experimental Research.
The study used MRI data from 295 participants, around age 17, from the national Consortium on Alcohol and neurodevelopment in Adolescence (NCANDA).The group included individuals who either did not use alcohol or drank lightly. Participants underwent functional MRI scans to measure brain function at rest. Investigators then examined how participants’ brains transitioned through a sequence of brain “states.”
One year after the brain scans, participants completed a questionnaire detailing their alcohol use. Researchers used drinking frequency and intensity as behavioral markers, analyzing the relationship between time spent in various brain states at age 17 and drinking behavior over the following year. They also explored whether findings varied by sex.
The study found that time spent in various brain states during the scans was similar between those who used any alcohol in the following year and those who did not. However, among those who drank, researchers identified associations between time spent in certain brain states and future drinking frequency.
More time spent in a state with high activation in the brain’s Default Mode Network—associated with mental health and behavior—was linked to fewer drinking days over the next year. This suggests that increased time in that state may offer protection against future alcohol use. For other brain states, the relationships between time spent in the state and future drinking frequency differed by sex.
The researchers noted that brain dynamics among teens who didn’t drink or drank lightly were linked to future drinking frequency but not to drinking intensity. This suggests that brain dynamics may be more informative about the regularity of behaviors than the sporadic intensity of behaviors,perhaps flagging vulnerability to AUD.
“Brain dynamics among teens who didn’t drink or drank lightly were linked to future drinking frequency but not to drinking intensity.”
What’s next
further research is needed to corroborate the sex-specific outcomes and to understand how teen brain dynamics might differ in real-life environments compared to resting-state brain activity.