Freshman Brains Change With Images of Alcohol, Penn State University Study

Connections among brain regions involved in emotion processing and cognitive control may change with increased exposure to alcohol and alcohol-related cues during the first year of college. Anecdotal evidence abounds attesting to the many negative social and physical effects of the dramatic increase in alcohol use that often comes with many students’ first year of college. The behavioral changes that accompany those effects indicate underlying changes in the brain.