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Cognitive Functions Of Teens, According To New Research  6:41
AM, Sep 27, 2012   |    comments   • Share   • Print   • - A A A
+  BETHESDA, Md. (WUSA) -- Here's a sobering thought: the
earlier your teenager starts drinking alcohol, the more likely
he or she is to develop a dependency that could haunt them for a
lifetime.  Research reveals that the brain is changing
dramatically during the adolescent years-establishing critical
cognitive functions like decision-making and impulse control.
Alcohol can have a tremendously negative effect, just as the
adolescent brain is most vulnerable.  Two starkly different
side-by-side images show the brain of a 15 year-old who doesn't
drink.  "Where you see a lot of color, and it's bright, it's a
lot of activity. The brain is functioning, it's very active,"
said Dr. Aaron White, an NIH brain researcher. "The teenager who
didn't drink heavily, his brain is functioning at a high level.
It's very active."  A brain sca