Guerri Consuelo, Pascual María
Department of Molecular and Cellular Pathology of Alcohol, Príncipe Felipe Research Center, Valencia, Spain.
Department of Physiology, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain.
Int J Dev Neurosci. 2019 Oct;77:89-98. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2018.11.006. Epub 2018 Nov 20.
Evidence obtained in recent decades has demonstrated that the brain still matures in adolescence. Changes in neural connectivity occur in different regions, including cortical and subcortical structures, which undergo modifications in white and gray matter densities. These alterations concomitantly occur in some neurotransmitter systems and hormone secretion, which markedly influence the refinement of certain brain areas and neural circuits. The immaturity of the adolescent brain makes it more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol and drug abuse, whose use can trigger long-term behavioral dysfunction. This article reviews the action of alcohol and drug abuse (cannabis, cocaine, opioids, amphetamines, anabolic androgenic steroids) in the adolescent brain, and their impact on both cognition and behavioral dysfunction, including predisposition to drug abuse in later life. It also discusses recent evidence that indicates the role of the neuroimmune system response and neuroinflammation as mechanisms that participate in many actions of ethanol and drug abuse in adolescence, including the neurotoxicity and alterations in neurocircuitry that contribute to the dysfunctional behaviors associated with addiction. The new data suggest the therapeutic potential of anti-inflammatory targets to prevent the long-term consequences of drug abuse in adolescence.
近几十年来获得的证据表明，大脑在青春期仍在发育成熟。神经连接在不同区域发生变化，包括皮质和皮质下结构，这些区域的白质和灰质密度会发生改变。这些变化同时发生在一些神经递质系统和激素分泌中，这显著影响了某些脑区和神经回路的完善。青少年大脑的不成熟使其更容易受到酒精和药物滥用的影响，而酒精和药物的使用会引发长期的行为功能障碍。本文综述了酒精和药物滥用（大麻、可卡因、阿片类药物、安非他明、合成代谢雄激素类固醇）对青少年大脑的作用，以及它们对认知和行为功能障碍的影响，包括对日后药物滥用的易感性。文章还讨论了最近的证据，这些证据表明神经免疫系统反应和神经炎症在青少年酒精和药物滥用的许多作用中发挥机制作用，包括神经毒性以及导致成瘾相关功能障碍行为的神经回路改变。新数据表明抗炎靶点在预防青少年药物滥用长期后果方面具有治疗潜力。
