Research shows binge drinking inhibits brain development

Teenagers who binge drink risk inhibiting part of their brain’s development and many are laying the groundwork for alcoholism down the track a Queensland University of Technology (QUT) researcher has found.

Professor Selena Bartlett, from QUT’s Institute for Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), studied the effect excessive binge drinking during adolescence had on a particular receptor in the brain and discovered teen bingeing altered it irreversibly, keeping the brain in an adolescent state.

"The human brain doesn’t fully develop until around age 25 and bingeing during adolescence modifies its circuits, preventing the brain from reaching maturity," she said.

"During adolescence, the brain undergoes massive changes in the prefrontal cortex and areas linked to drug reward but alcohol disrupts this.

"The research, which was carried out on rats, suggests that during ageing, the brain’s delta opioid peptide receptor (DOP-R) activity turns down, but binge drinking causes the receptors to stay on, keeping it in an adolescent stage.

"The younger a child or teenager starts binge drinking and the more they drink, the worse the possible outcome for them."

Professor Bartlett said recent trends to mix high-caffeine drinks such as Red Bull with alcohol were making the binge drinking problem worse.