Durham, N.C. - A recent report from the National Academy of Sciences contains disturbing news about the dangers of underage drinking. Aaron White, assistant research professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center, says the report confirms just how hazardous alcohol is to the adolescent brain.

"There's an incredible amount of development taking place during the teenage years. It's not surprising that alcohol and perhaps other drugs affect the teenage brain differently than the adult brain."

White says alcohol affects several parts of a young person's brain.

"the frontal lobes, which are critically involved in planning, decision-making and impulse control. We also have some evidence that the hippocampus, which plays a critical role in memory formation, suffers some damage as a result of alcohol abuse during adolescence, as well."

The report suggests that teenagers' heavy alcohol use could do long-term damage.

"If we look at the cognitive abilities of teenagers who are in drug and alcohol treatment, for at least three weeks after an adolescent's last drink, they show memory impairments and other cognitive deficits."

I'm Cabell Smith for MedMinute.