of adolescents differently than adults. Although the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this difference are not yet elucidated, it is known that ethanol more potently attenuates hippocampal long-term potentiation in brain slices from adolescent rats compared to adult rats (Pyapali et al. 1999). In addition, moderate ethanol doses (30 mM) enhance GABAA receptor-mediated inhibitory tonic currents more potently in the dentate gyrus of adolescent rats compared to adult rats (Fleming et al. 2007). These results demonstrate that innate differences, including differences in GABAA receptors, exist in the hippocampus between adolescent and adult animals that likely underlie differential sensitivity to ethanol-induced impairments in cognition.
