Despite the strong body of work on the prevalence, psychosocial correlates and potential consequences of adolescent alcohol use (e.g., Adger & Saha, 2013; Clark, 2004; Kuntsche & Gmel, 2013), surprisingly little is known about how drinking alcohol affects the developing human brain. Scholars widely agree that alcohol use during the adolescent years has a higher potential for neurotoxicity than during adulthood. This heightened neurotoxicity is likely due to the significant neurobiological changes that occur during this developmental period (Jacobus & Tapert, 2013; Lisdahl, Gilbart, Wright, & Shollenbarger, 2013a; Peeters, Vollebergh, Wiers, & Field, 2014). More specifically, studies indicate that the typical adolescent brain undergoes substantial and protracted development in terms of both structure and function throughout the teenage years and into the 20s and even 30s (e.g., Brain Development Cooperative Group, 2012; Giedd et al., 1999; Gogtay et al., 2004; Petanjek et al., 2011; Raznahan et al., 2011; Sowell, Thompson, Holmes, Jernigan, & Toga, 1999; Sowell et al., 1999; Tamnes et al., 2013; Westlye et al., 2010).
