WHY WE WORRY ABOUT CHILDREN USING ALCOHOL : Exposure to substances that inhibit cell growth has some impact on the adult brain, but these same substances can have a devastating effect on the developing brain. ^{_{White,et all 2001}}

RANDOM HAVOC:  Most other drugs are predictable; they have specific receptors in the brain.  We know which receptors they will use, and therefore, we can predict their impact on the neural function in specific regions of the brain.  Alcohol, on the other hand, doesn't have a specific receptor in the brain.  It selects receptors at random, acting on one receptor in one part of the brain, and on a different receptor in another part of the brain.  It is also random in its behavior in different brains, affecting different people differently. _{Kuhn, Swartzwelder and Wilson 1998}

THE GREAT IMPOSTOR WITH A PASS-KEY: Alcohol can choose any receptor it wants because it has a "pass key."  It combines with water molecules that form part of the receptors; changing the shape of the receptors so it can enter, virtually at will…altering the brains processes "at-will." _{Kuhn, Swartzwelder and Wilson 1998}

GLOBAL HAVOC:   Alcohol affects most of the brain, compromising memory, abstract thinking, problem solving, attention and concentration... and altering motivation, emotions, awareness, thinking, movement, breathing, consciousness, and more. _{^{White,et all 2001}}

PRANKSTER:   Alcohol plugs into the brain's massive network of switches activate and deactivate neural functioning and turns brain cells on or off .  It affects channels in the brain cell membranes that permit calcium and other chemicals to provide energy to electrically fire off messages to other cells. No other drug turns brain cells on and off at the rate alcohol does. _{^{White,et all 2001}}

INTERCEPTOR:  Alcohol seeps directly into neurons to prevent the messages that a neuron receives from being translated into instructions inside the cell. _{^{White,et all 2001}}

TRICKSTER:  Alcohol combines with lipids (fat molecules) that form channels in the surfaces of brain cell membranes, temporarily changing their structure and function. _{Leung,M 2006}

THIEF: Alcohol reduces the level of serotonin in the brain.  Serotonin is known as the brain's peacekeeper, assisting in learning and problem solving.  It enables our drives to live in harmony.  It is connected to cells in every part of the brain, the only neurotransmitter that is.  If not impeded by alcohol (or other drugs that act on serotonin receptors), the brain received gentle, rhythmic pulses of serotonin.  One of its most important roles is to act as a brake on impulses.  Too much or too little can affect cognitive and emotional functioning. _{Heinz, A et all 2000}