Featured Article Academic Journal Main Category: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs Also Included In: Genetics;Pediatrics / Children's Health Article Date: 04 Dec 2012 - 3:00 PST

Current ratings for: Gene May Prime Teens To Binge Drink

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The study, led by King's College London's Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) is published online this week in the Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, PNAS.

But what has become more common in this age group is binge drinking: consuming large amounts of alcohol in a short space of time.

Studies show teens's alcohol consumption has gone up from 6 units a week in 1994 to 13 in 2007.

The authors note that every year in the UK, around 5,000 teenagers are hospitalized because of drink.

Apart from the obvious problems such as increased anti-social and risk-taking behavior (for example drunk driving and unsafe sex), alcohol abuse in teenagers has also been linked to poor brain development and long term health problems.

Several genes have been linked to risk for alcohol abuse, including RASGRF-2, identified in recent studies from King's IoP.

But this latest study is the first to suggest the underlying mechanism through which the gene stimulates the brain to release dopamine.

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Gene May Prime Teens To Binge Drink

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