Is the adolescent brain is affected differently by alcohol than the adult brain?
In both the short-term and the long-term, alcohol influences the adolescent brain in ways different from the adult brain. Adolescence, broadly defined as the second decade of life, neurologically extends until the age of 25.14 In a state of alcohol impairment (short-term effects), the adolescent brain is impaired in ways similar to the adult brain but to differing degrees.15 In various animal experiments, the adolescent brain shows greater alcohol induced impairment of memory retrieval and imprinting capabilities than the adult brain.16 This is to say that the adolescent brain is worse at remembering things while drunk, and remembering things that happened while drunk. Contrastingly, the adolescent brain is less impaired in motor skill control than the adult brain.17 That is, the adolescent brain maintains a higher level of balance, reaction time, and hand eye coordination while under the same level of impairment as an adult brain. Since it is unethical to supply alcohol to those below
