How Does Alcohol Affect The Brain

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Picking up a bottle of alcohol may seem less dangerous than picking up a firearm. For this reason, many American teenagers have asked the question, if eighteen year olds can die fighting for their country, why can they not legally drink until they are twenty-one? However, one might not consider that military personnel are highly trained under knowledgeable, strict supervision. No one is trained in alcohol drinking, and very rarely do people use consume alcohol under strict supervision. The drinking age must remain at twenty-one years of age because of the effects of alcohol on decision making, the rise in deaths associated with legal alcohol consumption, and the detrimental effects of alcohol on the developing adolescent brain. Alcohol consumption in a person of any age affects their decision making…show more content…
A typical human brain is not fully developed and formed until a person is in their mid-twenties (Sturmhofel). If alcohol is consumed while a brain is developing, the shape, structure, and function of the brain are altered (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). The cerebral cortex of the brain is one of the last parts to fully develop, and it regulates a person’s emotions, self-control and memory. The frontal lobes, where ideas are formed and decisions are made, is also late to mature (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). When alcohol is consumed by an adolescent, the growth and advancement of both the cerebral cortex and the frontal lobes of the brain, inhibiting the individual’s ability to make decisions, create memories, control emotions, and form ideas (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration). Additionally, because the brain of a young adult is still developing, the brain is more likely to grow accustomed to alcohol consumption and become addicted to alcohol, leading to many more long term effects, like liver and kidney disease

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