Minecraft Test Shows Beer Bad For Young Brain

Amentha Rajagobal, Maya Sengupta and Maya Murray, both undergrads, have discovered that alcohol can have a significant effect on the brain's development. This is mainly the hippocampus which is responsible for spatial navigation and memory formation.

Researchers have known for a long time that alcohol can impact brain function in adults, but less is known about the impact of alcohol on the brains of children.

To test its impact, the students recruited undergraduate participants who answered questions about their consumption of alcohol. These included when they first drink, how often do they drink, how much and so on.

Then they asked the students to play a game where they had to remember where objects were found in Minecraft's world. Minecraft.

The two researchers discovered that those who started drinking earlier, had more difficulty remembering objects' locations as compared to those who drank later in adolescence.

Rajagobal states that the frontal lobes as well as the hippocampus continue to grow throughout our 20s. Minecraft "They continue growing and changing in ways that the rest of our brains don't which means they are more prone to damage from things such as drinking early in life." Minecraft

The consequences of this damage, however, could go beyond the diminution of ability to navigate the video game or even on the street.

"The hippocampus is the brain that helps create memories," says Sengupta-Murray. "Let's imagine that you have a dog: you can smell it and you can hear it, and you can feel it. The hippocampus links all those sensations and helps form the memories of your dog.