Socioemotional and Executive Control Mismatch in Adolescence and Risks for Initiating Drinking

What is the association of imbalances between socioemotional and executive control brain-behavior systems in adolescence with risk for heavy alcohol drinking in emerging adulthood?In this cohort study of 633 participants aged 12 to 21 years at baseline, faster development of the socioemotional system was associated with drinking onset in individuals who initiated heavy drinking compared with those who refrained from initiating heavy drinking. Heavy drinking was associated with deviation in the executive control system and exacerbated socioemotional dysregulation.These findings suggest that maturational imbalance may be a risk factor for heavy drinking onset, which in turn may pose risks for developing alcohol-induced damage of both brain-behavior systems.

Corresponding Author: Qingyu Zhao, PhD, Weill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Ave, New York, NY 10065 (qiz4006@med.cornell.edu).

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