Teenage Binge Drinking Might Have Long-Term Effects

Binge-drinking adolescents are 2.3 to 3.0 times more likely than nonbingers to continue this behavior into their thirties (Pediatrics 2004; 114:714). Does binge drinking during the teenage years, when the brain is particularly plastic (Nat Neurosci 1999; 2:861), affect brain development? To explore this question, researchers examined hippocampal neurogenesis after alcohol exposure in macaque monkeys, which have similar hippocampal morphology to humans.

Subjects were seven macaques (age, 4–5 years; human equivalent, 12–15 years). To identify monkeys with a propensity to drink excessively and those with more modest intake, researchers exposed the animals to increasing concentrations of alcohol in solution with Tang. After levels of alcohol pre…