DURHAM, N.C. – Adolescents who drink alcohol are hurting their memory and learning capability – and that will last for life, according to a study from Duke University.
The study was published April 27 in the journal Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research.
The study provides new insights at what changes happen at the cellular level when adolescents are exposed to booze.
These changes, located in the hippocampus, impact synaptic abilities and can also have detrimental impacts on behavior.
Young rodents were used in the study that exposed them to alcohol at levels that would cause impairment in humans. They did not consume it, though, into adulthood but once adults showed an inability to perform at memory tasks, even without further alcohol exposure.