DECEMBER 2024 / VOL – 001
Study Links Teen Brain Networks to Future Substance Abuse Risks
A recent study using brain imaging shows that a low attention span in teenage years might be a predictive indicator for substance use in the future.
New findings from researchers at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, reveal that difficulty in maintaining sustained attention for teenagers can be an indicator of possible substance abuse in their adulthood. This research was published in the eLife journal and is the most recent entrant in the long list of studies conducted on the subject. But unlike previous reports this study displays a distinct correlation between low attention span in adolescence for predicting potential risk for cannabis and cigarette dependency for individuals with the help of brain imagery.
In the previous findings, experts have found a connection between cannabis and cigarette use in adolescents with lowered sustained attention span. These individuals who engaged in smoking cigarettes and consuming cannabis did have problems concentrating on tasks for a long time.
However the previous studies were mostly cross-sectional and were prepared using data from a low number of participants. So the results were inconclusive in determining whether people engaged in substance use because of poor attention or vice versa.
The recent study explores the substance use-sustained attention link across a bigger group of participants. Robert Whelan the author of Methods for Analyzing Large Neuroimaging Datasets and psychology professor at Trinity College Dublin began working on this research. He wanted to understand if a low attention span is a precursor for substance abuse. Understanding the correlation can help in the development of helpful and preventive interventions during teenage years. Early care and prevention may help prevent future dependency on substance abuse for people.
Whelan and his team of researchers from the School of Medicine and the School of Psychology at Trinity College Dublin studied 1,000 participants between the ages of 14 and 23. In the IMAGEN study, they used brain imaging technology to record the brain activity of participants at ages 14, 19, and 23. Following that, the team analyzed the data and found conclusive evidence that the brain network activity and low sustained attention at age 14 did show an indication of higher risk for cannabis and cigarette use at age 23.
Given the results, the researchers state that studying the long term attention levels of teenagers and any connected brain activity can help predict who has a higher likelihood of being vulnerable to substance use.
“By identifying lower sustained attention as a predictor of substance use, our findings can potentially guide the development of targeted educational programmes and cognitive training interventions to improve attention in adolescents identified as vulnerable to substance use,” states Whelan. “This proactive approach could reduce substance abuse risks, improve individual lives, and lessen societal burdens related to addiction.”
