“Honey, I understand that you are encountering or may soon encounter new situations that require you to make important decisions, such as the issue of alcohol. It would be useless for me to tell you not to drink, because you would not understand what I really want to convey to you; and in the end, either you would probably end up drinking and not telling me, or maybe you wouldn't drink for me, when it should be for you.
In previous generations we were not lucky enough to have neuroscientific information at our fingertips that would allow us to know the effects of alcohol on the brain in adolescence. Most of us had no more information than the misfortunes of serious accidents that can occur if you drink; and many times we blamed it on bad luck.
And what I would like to inform you is that beyond bad luck or not, there is a neuroscientific explanation that tells us what happens in the brain with alcohol in adolescence and the effects it can have on your life.
Let me show you this book: The Teenage Brain – Frances E. Jensen, and this University of Navarra video on the adolescent brain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAOdnS39HiQ.)
This information has made me understand many things regarding the accompaniment of a teenage child in general. And I want to start by apologizing to you, now I am better able to understand your behavior and have more patience. Now I know that I can accompany you better, and I feel happy about it.
- Prefrontal part of the brain of an adolescent
Your brain is under construction and as such, the prefrontal part, the part of analyzing risks, planning, thinking clearly and making decisions, etc. which does not finish its maturation process until beyond 21 years of age. The fact that it is under construction implies that the wiring, the neural connections to this prefrontal part, sometimes work and sometimes not. So according to this neuroscientific information, sometimes your brain is prepared to be responsible and sometimes not, and it wasn't fair that I expected you to always be responsible, I'm sorry, honey.
That this part of the brain, so important for analyzing risks, is under construction implies that If one day you decide to drink alcohol and lose control drinking, your life will depend on your colleagues who will be in the same maturational brain stage as you.
And not because they are not good companions, but because they simply do not have this prefrontal part of the brain mature, they are probably not trained to make the best decisions about your health. What can imply that the fear of the anger of the parents / mothers prevents urgent measures to be taken to safeguard your life.
In addition, alcohol directly affects the maturation process of this prefrontal part. It has been shown that alcohol abuse in adolescence prevents the proper construction of the prefrontal part of the brain, which in adulthood implies less ability to analyze risks, make decisions, think clearly, self-control, etc.
- Dopamine and the reward circuitry of an adolescent.
I was also surprised to find out that teenagers have to drink more alcohol to get the same dopamine effects that alcohol produces in an adult, because you start from lower dopamine levels than adults. The dopamine is a neurotransmitter responsible for the reward circuit. Dopamine is a chemical messenger that helps the brain to motivate, activate.
This implies that the possibility of binge drinking is very high, so losing control is much easier for a teenager.
This added to the fact that your brain is under construction and in the process of learning, unfortunately, they make you more prone to addictions than adults, learning your brain this behavior. And therefore an addiction in adolescence is much more difficult to remove, not only in adolescence, but in the rest of your life.
In addition to these dopamine imbalances, risks are minimized, sometimes compensating the reward for the risk that is taken.
- The hippocampus and the effect on learning and memory due to alcohol.
And finally honey is the nerve damage that alcohol produces in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is in charge of memory and learning so alcohol will affect this ability of your brain.
It may happen that, depending on the dose of alcohol you drink, you do not remember what happened, what could lead to taking greater risks as possible abuse, unprotected sex, reckless driving, etc.
I think that with all this you have enough information for you to make the best decisions for yourself, for your life, for your future. I understand that it will not be easy in certain situations and I understand that we can all make mistakes. I want you to know that I am here to accompany you in your successes and in your mistakes. And please, whatever happens one day, you have me here to help you..
I love you, your mother”
