Modeling adolescent development and alcohol use in animals

Though certain characteristics found in human adolescents are clearly uniqu e, there are other key characteristics of this developmental stage that are common across a number of species. Animal models offer researchers unique insight into the effects of alcohol on the adolescent. This age period is p articularly important for study, because this is the time during which many people first experiment with alcohol It is possible that features of the a dolescent brain may in fact predispose a youngster to behave in ways that p lace him or her at particular risk for experimenting with alcohol or other drugs. In addition to behavioral changes, a number of important physiologic al alterations occur during adolescence, including changes in brain regions implicated in modulating the reinforcing effects of alcohol and other drug s of abuse.