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Alcohol exposure during adolescence leads to chronic stress vulnerability

A research team led by Linda Spear, distinguished professor of psychology at Binghamton University, gave alcohol to rats every other day, starting from early to mid-adolescence. When the team looked at the same rats in adulthood, they found that adult males didn't show hormonal stress adaptation, making them more vulnerable to chronic stress. "Stress hormones are released when you get anxious or are in a stressful circumstance," said Spear. "The classic stress hormone is cortisol in humans; it's corticosterone in rats. When you expose the animals to a stressor, the first time they show a large hormone stress response. However, this hormonal response normally adapts over time, such that less hormone is released following repeated exposure to a relatively mild stressor. And that's important, because cortisol or corticosterone helps you respond to an emergency. But it's bad to have elevated levels in the long term, because sustained elevations in these ...

As more states legalize marijuana, adolescents' problems with pot decline

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Marijuana vegetation. The variety of adolescents who had issues associated to marijuana -- equivalent to changing into depending on the drug or having bother in class and in relationships -- declined by 24 p.c from 2002 to 2013. Credit score: © Jag_cz / Fotolia A survey of greater than 216,000 adolescents from all 50 states signifies the variety of teenagers with marijuana-related issues is declining. Equally, the charges of marijuana use by younger individuals are falling regardless of the actual fact extra U.S. states are legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana use and the variety of adults utilizing the drug has elevated. Researchers at Washington College College of Medication in St. Louis examined information on drug use collected from younger folks, ages 12 to 17, over a 12-year span. They discovered that the variety of adolescents who had issues associated to marijuana -- equivalent to changing into depending on the drug or having bother i...