The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) plays many critical functions. It receives inputs from sensory areas of the brain, limbic systems and the hippocampus, which allows context specific decisions using these inputs to guide adaptive behavior (Euston, Gruber, & McNaughton, 2012). The maturation of the PFC continues from adolescence into early adulthood. This delayed maturation plays a role in the thrill-, risk- and novelty-seeking behavior seen in adolescence (Crews, Vetreno, Broadwater, & Robinson, 2016; Ernst & Fudge, 2009). Adolescents with alcohol use disorders have decreased white matter and grey matter in the prefrontal cortex (De Bellis et al., 2005). The reduced prefrontal volume is associated with increased impulsivity, which can lead to poor decision-making and control (Crews & Nixon, 2009; Dalwani et al., 2011). Adolescent binge drinking in rats reduces prefrontal myelin (Vargas, Bengston, Gilpin, Whitcomb, & Richardson, 2014), and leads to a disruption of dopaminergic and GABAergic transmission in the adult mPFC, which can contribute to deficits in decision making in adults (Trantham-Davidson et al., 2016). Adult P rats exhibit higher impulsive-like behavior compared to non-selected rats (Beckwith & Czachowski, 2014, 2016).
