Teenage Addiction and the Brain

1. Teenage Addiction and the Brain

2. Brain development and the role of environmental triggers in substance abuse • Most drug use starts and peaks during adolescence • 76.5% of all teens (<18 years of age) try an addictive substance • Alcohol 72% • Cigarettes 46% • Marijuana 38% • 19.4% will meet the criteria for a substance use disorder

3. Brief neurotransmission lesson Diagram of a neuron Neurotransmitter transmission

4. Brain chemistry and addiction • No one sets out to become addicted • First time use of any drug may be a choice but biology takes over in addiction • Every drug to which people can become addicted does so primarily because of the release of the neurotransmitter Dopamine • Dopamine is involved in regulation of movement, reward and punishment, pleasure, and energy

5. Synaptic changes occur with maturation • The fostering of these connections promotes life long learning • Connections can be impacted by substance use during adolescence; if they are not formed or are abnormal, they lead to misinformation

6. Brain development • Gray matter develops between the ages of 5 and 20 • Nerve cells are covered with insulation (myelin) which is made up of fat • Insulated neurons travel together to make pathways • Myelination increases in adolescence

7. How does the adolescent brain function • Key brain regions • Frontal cortex – responsible for planning, strategizing and judgment – develops later in youth • Amygdala – responsible for emotional responses and assigns value to sensory stimuli • Hippocampus – responsible for memory formation and stress regulation • Corpus Callosum – connects the hemispheres and is responsible for creativity and problem solving

9. All drugs that have reward impact will increase dopamine levels in the part of the brain associated with reward and motivational behavior • Adults have the ability to regulate their amygdala better than teens • The adult cortex can “throttle things down” but the teen cortex is not developed enough to do that as well

10. Drugs, dopamine and teens • Dopamine activity in the prefrontal cortex during adolescence increases: • Impulsivity • Novelty/sensation seeking • Drug reward • Food reward The adolescent brain functions differently when exposed to drugs

11. So why are adolescents vulnerable? Despite increased cognition and learning potential in the adolescent brain, they are more vulnerable because: • They respond strongly to rewarding stimuli • They have lower inhibitory control • Adolescents have less insight into their mistakes

12. How can this information be used in prevention • The timing of exposure to drugs dictates part of its enduring actions • For example, the age of onset of alcohol use is a predictor of future abuse • Below age 15, 4 to 5 times more likely to develop alcoholism compared to those who start after age 21 • Alcohol dependence decreases 14% for every year a teen delays starting

13. Results of animal studies • Age of onset: Early adolescent rats consume more alcohol than adult rats • Length of intoxication: Early adolescent rats consume more alcohol than adult rats • Alcohol inhibits ability to learn in adolescent rats more than in adult rates • This research demonstrates increased impact of alcohol use in adolescence versus adulthood

14. Prevention Strategies • Adolescents are more inclined to be driven by rewards – use age appropriate approaches that support this tendency • Integrate prevention; gear toward general public, specific population or subgroup, and specific high risk individuals • Consider the brain when talking with teens • Teens interpret situations with amygdala (from an emotional point of view) – remain calm, rationale and do not engage in emotional debate