But of Course

Rat study reveals long-term effects of adolescent amphetamine abuse on the brain

A study of rats given regular, high doses of amphetamine finds that those exposed to the drug at an age corresponding to human adolescence experience long-term changes in brain function that persist into adulthood.
The study, reported in the journal Neuroscience, found that amphetamine leads to changes in dopamine signaling. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a role in memory, attention, learning and feelings of pleasure.
"The dopamine system, which continues to develop throughout adolescence and young adulthood, is a primary target of psychostimulant drugs like amphetamine," said University of Illinois psychology professor Joshua Gulley, who led the new research. "Changes in dopamine function in response to repeated drug exposure are likely to contribute to the behavioral consequences - addiction and relapse, for example - that abusers experience.

"Along with other studies, this shows pretty clear evidence that drug use during adolescence, a time when the brain is still developing, has extremely long-lasting consequences that go far beyond the last drug exposure," Gulley said.