The mechanisms underlying the long-term effects of prenatal substance abuse and its consequent elevated impulsivity during adolescence are poorly understood. Liu and Lester34 have reported on developmentally-programmed neural maturation and highlighted adolescence as a critical period of brain maturation. These investigators have studied impairments in the DAergic system, the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, and the pathological interactions between these two systems that originate from previous fetal programming in order to explain insufficient behavioral inhibition in affected adolescents. In addition, Burke35 has examined the development of brain functions and the cognitive capabilities of teenagers. Specifically, these two sets of investigators have explored the effect of alcohol abuse on brain development, and the fundamental cognitive differences between adolescents and adults, and have suggested that the adultification of youth is harsh for those whose brains have not fully matured.
