binge drinkers had ~7% thinner cortices compared to same-sex controls (Squeglia et al., 2012). This suggests delayed cortical thinning, a process promoting efficient neural processing in adolescence, in adolescent female drinkers. These results are consistent with functional findings in frontal regions for heavy drinking in adolescence (see fMRI section). For example, males with adolescent-onset AUD or binge-drinking males had greater frontal activation in response to a spatial working memory task compared to same-sex controls (Cohen’s d=0.6), whereas females with adolescent-onset AUD or binge-drinking females showed less frontal activation to a spatial working memory task compared to same-sex controls (Cohen’s d=1.2) (Squeglia, Schweinsburg, Pulido, & Tapert, 2011). For female binge drinkers, less frontal activation was associated with poorer working memory and attention on the spatial working memory task (Squeglia et al., 2011).
