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Developmental perspectives on methamphetamine abuse: exploring adolescent vulnerabilities on brain and behavior

journal contribution
posted on 2018-12-01, 00:00 authored by S J Luikinga, Jee Hyun KimJee Hyun Kim, C J Perry
Most people that experience illicit drugs do so for the first time during adolescence, and methamphetamine (meth) is no exception. Therefore, research into the effects of meth should highlight the adolescent period. Despite this, the vast majority of current literature has mainly focused on meth exposure during adulthood. In this review, we first describe existing literature that compares the behavioral effects of meth where exposure occurs in adolescence compared to adulthood. Given that there are actually very few such studies, we also look at what is known about neural effects of meth in the adult brain, and relate these to normal neural development occurring during the adolescent period to establish how meth may target maturing regions and related neurochemistry. What emerges overall is that adolescents appear to be more vulnerable to the rewarding and reinforcing effects of meth, and that meth indeed has effects on areas that are in flux during adolescence. However, there is some evidence for a paradoxical resistance to the neurotoxic effects during this period. We highlight the need for further age-related research to better understand, treat, and prevent meth use disorders and addiction in general.

History

Journal

Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry

Volume

87

Season

Part A

Pagination

78 - 84

Publisher

Elsevier

Location

Amsterdam, The Netherlands

ISSN

0278-5846

eISSN

1878-4216

Language

eng

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal