Alcohol and Substance use- Lecture 4

Question 1

Bio Link between Alcohol use and adolesence

Answer 1

Due to brain changes, characterised by sexual maturation and establishment of identity

Question 2

Brain changes in Adolescents

Answer 2

Pruning in BASAL GANGLIA and PREFRONTAL AREA:
-Removes the excess of synapses, that form unnecessary connections, whilst refining the neural connections that are frequently used (Carried out by Astrocytes in brain)

Myelination:
-Encasing neurons in myelin sheath which increases speed and efficiency of transmissions of action potentials

Question 3

Klinberg (1999) Myelination

Answer 3

Found fibre tracts throughout the frontal cortex continue to myelin-ate into the second decade of life

Question 4

Liston (2006)

Evidence of adolescent brain changes

Answer 4

improved myelination= performance better on a (a measure of inhibition). Also better performance with age.
Potentially, as myelination has not complete, behaviour may be less inhibited

Question 5

Reward system

Fuster (2002)

Answer 5

Pruning and myelination actually begin earlier in reward system- so are relatively mature
-May lead to increased reward seeking

Question 6

Steinberg (2010)

Dual systems model of Adolescent Risk taking

Answer 6

• Reward seeking begins earlier
• Impulsivity is yet to be controlled by the cognitive control system
• Interaction between these two leads to increase of risk taking in adolescence.

Question 7

Impulsivity as a trait

Answer 7

Considered a dimension of personality as early as Eysenck (1956)

Question 8

Trait impulsivity during adolescence

Answer 8

Steinberg et al. (2008)- declines from age of 10 to 30

sensation seeking increased from 10 to 15 then declined

Question 9

Casey & Jones (2010)

Answer 9

Found sensation seeking to peak when the difference in maturity between reward centres of the brain and the development of frontal areas was the greatest.

Question 10

UPPS

Whiteside and Lynam (2001)

Answer 10

A Factor Analysis on all commonly used measures of trait impulsivity 
Found these common categories
Urgency
Premeditation (lack of)
Perseverance (lack of)
Sensation Seeking

Question 11

Stautz & Cooper (2013)

UPPS and alcohol

Answer 11

Meta analysis on the relation between UPPS traits and alcohol use among adolescents.
All UPPS traits associated with increased alcohol consumption and ‘problematic’ use.

Question 12

Behavioural measures of Impulsivity- Impulsive choice

Answer 12

Some individuals prefer small immediate rewards over larger long term rewards- known as Delay Discounting (Petry, 2001).
Desire for short term small rewards> more impulsive

Question 13

Petry, (2001)

Answer 13

DELAY DISCOUNTING

Question 14

Behavioural measures of Impulsivity- Impulsive action

Answer 14

Inhibiting a pre-potent response to a task
e.g:
>Stroop task
>Go/no go task
>Flanker task

Question 15

Impulsivity as a risk factor

Answer 15

Studies of substance abusers show impulsivity inhibition problems & predicting later substance abuse through impulsivity

Question 16

Nigg et al. (2006)

Answer 16

Stop-signal performance predicted alcohol-related problems, and illicit drug use among adolescents

Question 17

Fernie et al (2013)

Answer 17

Performance on stop signal task and delay discounting among 12-13 yr olds predicted alcohol use every six months across 2 years

Question 18

Criticisms

Questioning research linking adolescents particularly to impulsivity

Answer 18

Most adolescents do not engage in physical aggression

Trembley et al. (2006)- as referenced later

Question 19

Nagin & Tremblay (1999)

Answer 19

Those involved in aggressive behaviour at an early age showed a decline in this behaviour as they aged
-perhaps risky behaviour begins earlier

Question 20

Mischel et al (2010)

Answer 20

Marshmallow test- impulsivity in children- linked to academic attainment
Review showed replication has confirmed findings of original.
More impulsive will attain less academically

Question 21

Criticisms of Mischel (1970) Marshmallow test

Answer 21

• Small and highly selective sample
• Recent replication (Watts et al, 2018) found much smaller correlation between test and academic attainment
• Reduced when controlling for demographic factors

Question 22

Early Stressors

Anda et al (2006); Middleebrooks & Audage (2008)

Answer 22

Early life stressors related to risky behaviour in adolescents

• Neglect
• Abuse
• Parental substance abuse
• Exposure to violence

Question 23

Lovallo (2013)

Answer 23

Stress experience during early life leads to reduced stress reactivity in adulthood. ► Reduced stress reactivity accompanies a disinhibited behavioural style. ► Disinhibited behaviour can increase risk of substance abuse.

Question 24

Trembley et al. (2006)

Answer 24

• Most children have had their ‘onset’ of physical aggression by the end of their second year after birth
• learned to inhibit physical aggression by school entry

Aggression in adolescence may be due to type-
>Childhood limited
>Life-course persistent

Question 25

Romer (2010)

Adverse evidence linking neural activity to impulsivity

Answer 25

Little evidence linking neural development to increased impulsivity in adolescence
Cortical thinning 5-11 yrs due to important learning period (associated with improved vocabulary) and wrongly correlated with impulsivity

Question 26

DeBellis et al (2008)

Adverse evidence linking neural activity to impulsivity

Answer 26

Myelination in some areas more advanced in youth with alcohol use disorder

Question 27

Brain changes and early stressors

Answer 27

Brain changes may be in response to early life stressors- Volman et al. (2018)-
>personal early-life stressful events were associated with larger developmental reductions in grey matter volume

Question 28

Interventions

Answer 28

Can be used to prevent early impulsivity that continues until adolescence

Question 29

Petras et al (2008)

Interventions

Answer 29

Good behaviour game- long lasting effects on those who exhibit high rates of aggression and uncontrolled behaviour (19-21 yrs)

Question 30

Romer et al (2010)

Interventions

Answer 30

Experience of regrettable consequences stemming from risk taking itself can be used to gain patience in delay discounting- reducing impulsivity

Question 31

Spear (2009)

Interventions

Answer 31

Experiences in adolescence may serve to customise the maturing brain- > learn from mistakes and over time gain more control of actions