Research Group on Binge Drinking (alone or in polyconsumption with cannabis): memory and stress response

Description

There is a clear concern about the use of alcohol and/or cannabis among young people and adolescents, as they give less importance to the health risks involved in the consumption of these substances. Thus, cannabis use, together with alcohol use, forms part of the habits and lifestyles of a significant proportion of young Spanish adolescents. The pattern of intensive alcohol consumption (also known as "binge drinking"), alone or together with cannabis, initiated at an early age, generates a range of undesirable effects on cognition and stress response in this at-risk population such as adolescents and on a brain that is still developing. A better understanding of the neurotoxic effects associated with heavy alcohol consumption in an at-risk population such as young people and adolescents can promote greater social awareness, involving society as a whole as an active participant. This greater social awareness will make it possible to delay the age of onset and reduce the consumption of alcohol and/or cannabis, and will help to establish better intervention strategies (pharmacological, social or educational) necessary for the prevention and treatment of the deterioration observed, contributing to the achievement of more specific and effective action programmes.

Goals CT

To clarify whether the effects of heavy alcohol consumption, alone or in polydrinking with cannabis, on memory and stress response are exacerbated by maintaining this pattern of heavy alcohol consumption.
To clarify whether the effects of heavy alcohol consumption, alone or in polydrinking with cannabis, on memory and stress response are mediated by inflammatory brain processes.
To assess sex differences in the effects of heavy alcohol consumption, alone or in polydrinking with cannabis, on memory and stress response.

Research lines

Binge Drinking (alone or in polydrinking with THC): memory and stress response
The pattern of heavy alcohol consumption, alone or in polydrinking with cannabis, initiated early in adolescence is a precipitant for the development of cognitive impairment and stress response and should therefore be studied in this at-risk population with special attention.
Binge Drinking (alone or in polydrinking with THC): memory and stress response
The pattern of heavy alcohol consumption, alone or in polydrinking with cannabis, initiated early in adolescence is a precipitant for the development of cognitive impairment and stress response and should therefore be studied in this at-risk population with special attention.

Management