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Scientists are rather unequivocal on the issue, as it turns out. "Alcohol is probably the worst of all of the drugs in terms of effects on the fetus," said Rajesh C. Miranda, Ph.D., professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. "The data from human studies and from animal models is clear; alcohol consumption during pregnancy causes FAS/FASD, and there is no safe level of consumption and no safe time." That said, binge drinking -- which surveys show to be a common behavior for both men and women -- may be especially risky. It increases the blood alcohol level quickly, which animal models have shown to be likely to cause FAS. "Binge drinking plus the large number of unplanned pregnancies (about half, by some estimates) in this country is a recipe for disaster," Miranda said, "since many women may consume alcohol without being aware of their pregnancy." Fetal alcohol syndrome can certainly be a devastating conditi...

It is known that rodents with high waiting impulsivity, which is the tendency to respond prematurely, are more likely to develop addiction-like behaviors. Researchers at the University of Cambridge, led by Dr. Valerie Voon, mapped the neural correlates of behavioral control using a translational task and resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging in order to examine the same type of impulsivity in humans . They found that waiting impulsivity in healthy volunteers is associated with lower connectivity of the subthalamic nucleus with ventral striatum and subgenual cingulate , brain regions similarly implicated in rodent studies. In a second set of studies, they show that binge drinkers display elevated impulsivity and that both binge drinkers and individuals with alcohol use disorders have reduced subthalamic nucleus connectivity. "The same connections are impaired in alcohol misuse across social drinkers, binge drinkers and alcohol dependent subjects," explaine...

The research by three criminologists in UT Dallas' School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences (EPPS) discovered that students who were bullied in third grade did not have a greater risk of using drugs or alcohol by ninth grade. But the researchers found that children who had experienced the highest level of victimization smoked cigarettes or used alcohol at higher rates than high school peers. The study noted that experimentation with drugs and alcohol is common among adolescents regardless of whether they had been bullied. "The findings speak to the necessity of continuing to encourage meaningful substance use prevention programs during adolescence and making sure students have the resilience skills necessary to stay away from substances," said Dr. Nadine Connell, assistant professor of criminologyand lead author of the study. "Early in-school victimization may, however, have other consequences that should be explored." The study, published in th...