Using a stimulus paradigm similar to ours, Knight (1996) found a pattern analogous to the present results, concentrating on novel P3, in patients suffering from lesions in medial temporal cortex. This area is one of the potential generator sites of novel-sound P3 (Escera et al., 2000), and also a region that suggested to be specifically sensitive to structural effects of early-onset alcohol use (Clark et al., 2008; De Bellis et al., 2000). We speculate that the novel P3 reduction associated with adolescent alcohol use could thus be partially contributed by subtle functional changes in the medial temporal lobe. Given the well-documented role of these areas (as well as frontal areas) in memory and learning, we suggest that these subtle brain changes could interfere with academic performance and lead to experiencing failures that foster increased adolescent alcohol use (Bergen et al., 2005)—a high-risk pathway to later alcohol dependence (Grant et al., 2006).
