Adolescents respond to the effects of alcohol distinctly from adults [4]. Adolescents are less sensitive to negative effects of alcohol, including cues that influence self-regulation of intake, but are more sensitive to positive effects, which may serve to reinforce or promote excessive intake [4]. The distinct response of adolescents has both pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic components such that age-related differences in alcohol (ethanol) absorption and metabolism must be considered when examining these differences [8]. Specifically, it takes a larger dose of alcohol for an adolescent to achieve similar blood alcohol concentrations as an adult [7]. However, well-controlled animal studies have shown that despite similar blood alcohol concentrations, adolescents demonstrate enhanced sensitivities or vulnerabilities to many aspects of alcohol use and abuse [9,10]. The following sections highlight recent work that examines how the adolescent's unique response to alcohol may promote the development of an AUD.
