Alcohol use in adulthood is associated with neurotoxic molecular and metabolic changes in the brain. Animal and human studies have shown that chronic alcohol exposure leads to structural and chemical brain alterations [24,45,74], functional brain changes [2] and neurocognitive impairments [31,89,96]. Neuroimaging studies have noted prominent macrostructural (e.g., volume) and microstructural (e.g., fiber density, compactness, coherence) white matter changes in adults with alcohol use disorders [70,72], which may predict deteriorating cognitive performance [21,73]. Less is known about the detrimental effects of alcohol use on the adolescent brain.
