Alcohol breaks down the brain structure

US scientists claim that marijuana and alcohol use inhibit adolescent brain development. This is because when a young brain is very vulnerable to the effects of various factors, especially drugs and alcohol.

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For a year and a half, scientists tracked the brain changes of nearly a hundred young men and women aged 16-20. Some of them often find cannabis and alcohol, while most have never used them, or have been dragged by friends for a couple of tries.

Alcohol causes inhibition of the human brain, especially in adolescence.

During the study, on each volunteer, scientists performed about 180 shots of MRI magnetic resonance imaging. In addition, the subjects are also periodically tested for toxicology.

Scientists found that in the brains of people who regularly smoke marijuana and drink alcohol, white matter (in the brain) is formed more slowly. Let us recall that white matter forms a bundle of nerve axons (axons) that connect brain regions and transfer information to each other. If the axon is poorly functioning, the brain cannot work together and affect human behavior, for example, difficult to control yourself.

Scientists note that participants in the experiment initially had different levels of white matter development, but after a year and a half of drinking and using marijuana, the structure of the brain changed dramatically to disconnect. get those differences too.

Previous studies have been conducted, but are limited to a few measurements and inconsistent results, since they can overlap the effect of alcohol on other factors such as trait characteristics. development of each person. So for a time they could not make reliable conclusions.