Did you know...

• Alcohol dilutes itself in the water volume of the body in order to travel through the system.  Those vital organs, like the brain, that contain a lot of water and need an ample blood supply are particularly vulnerable to the effects of alcohol.  (Dunlap, 2001)

• Heavy drinking over many years may result in serious mental disorders or permanent, irreversible damage to the brain or peripheral nervous system. (Narcotic Educational Foundation of America, 2002)

• Alcohol affects all parts of the brain, which also affects the heart rate, coordination, speech, and destruction of brain cells. (Narcotic Educational Foundation of America, 2002)

• Alcohol may encourage aggression by disrupting normal brain mechanisms that normally restrain impulsive behavior such as aggression. (Hingson et al, October 2001)

• The brain does not finish developing until a person is around 20 years old, and one of the last regions to mature is intimately involved with the ability to plan and make complex judgments. (Kuhn, Swartzwelder, and Wilson, 1998)

• The available evidence suggests that adolescents are more vulnerable than adults to the effects of alcohol on learning and memory. (White, 2001)

• It has become clear over recent years that alcohol impacts both behavior and brain function differently in adolescents and adults. (White, 2001)

• Recent research indicates that, in contrast to previous assumptions, the brain continues to undergo a tremendous amount of development through adolescence and into young adulthood. (White, 2001)

• The brain continues to grow through the age of 20. (Giedd et al, 1999)