Robert+Acosta

**Facts About the Teenage Brain**
We once thought that the brain was fully formed by the end of childhood, but research has shown that adolescence is a time of profound brain growth and change. http://teenagebrain.blogspot.com/  kids brains are not fully develop at the end of childhood.  //Adolescence is the transition from childhood to adulthood, a period during which an individual acquires the skills necessary to survive on his/her own away from their parents or other caregivers. The age range during which this transition occurs can vary, but often encompasses the entire second decade of life or longer. // [|http://www.duke.edu/~amwhite/Adolescence/adolescent2.html **kids are not ready to be alone because there brains aint ready to function on there own **

 The illicit drug ecstasy may cause long-lasting nerve cell damage in the brains of heavy users, according to a report published yesterday by scientists at Johns Hopkins University. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html  ecstacy may not show symptoms yet but it can later.

http://www.sciam.com/article
 * Abuse of opiates such as heroin, methadone and morphine destroy brain cells, reducing attention span and memory. But new research shows there may be a way to regain some lost patience and recall. **
 * <span style="color: rgb(86, 194, 186)">any one of these drugs can cut your memory short,but there's ways to get back memory. **

**<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128)"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">BLACKOUTS AND MEMORY LAPSES **
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="color: rgb(140, 135, 29)"><span style="color: rgb(84, 59, 237)">Alcohol can produce detectable impairments in memory after only a few drinks and, as the amount of alcohol increases, so does the degree of impairment. Large quantities of alcohol, especially when consumed quickly and on an empty stomach, can produce a blackout, or an interval of time for which the intoxicated person cannot recall key details of events, or even entire events. [|http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa63/aa63.htm</span]> <span style="color: rgb(73, 32, 141)"><span style="color: rgb(72, 45, 169)">If drinking on in empty stomach it can cause blackout or vomiting and it can cause you lose memory. <span style="color: rgb(129, 113, 34)">

**<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128)"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">BRAIN DAMAGE FROM OTHER CAUSES **
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="color: rgb(129, 113, 34)">People who have been drinking large amounts of alcohol for long periods of time run the risk of developing serious and persistent changes in the brain. Damage may be a result of the direct effects of alcohol on the brain or may result indirectly, from a poor general health status or from severe liver disease. http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa63/aa63.htm <span style="color: rgb(106, 89, 16)">drinking for a long period can cause liver disease that can kill you. = = =Female Drinking and Brain Damage= <span style="color: rgb(111, 184, 177)">Previous studies have found that women who drink face a greater risk of developing diseases related to alcohol abuse -- such as liver disease, heart disease, cancer and [|particularly breast cancer] -- than men who drink similar amounts or even more. http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/women/a/aa010219a.htm <span style="color: rgb(115, 181, 174)">women are in more of a risk of cancer than men who drink a lot more.