Slides and the recording are for delegates only
Why are teens especially vulnerable to substance use, and what role does the brain play?
In this session, Dr. Sharon Levy explores the neurodevelopmental foundations of adolescent substance use, showing how brain development helps explain why experimentation during this period can lead to serious risk. From legal substances like alcohol and nicotine to medications and illicit drugs such as opioids and fentanyl, their effects on the adolescent brain can be both immediate and long lasting.
Drawing on her extensive clinical and research experience, Dr. Levy explains how adolescents are biologically drawn to intense stimulation and dopamine-driven rewards, while still developing the executive functions needed to assess risk and regulate behaviour. This developmental mismatch creates a window of heightened vulnerability to substance use disorders.
Essential for professionals working with young people, this session offers a compelling look at the science behind substance use and the importance of early, informed intervention.
About the session
In this session, Dr. Sharon Levy explores how teen substance use is not merely a rite of passage, but rather a phenomenon rooted in developmental neurobiology. The tendency to experiment with substances—and the vulnerability to develop substance use disorders—stems from the way the adolescent brain is wired. Psychoactive substances are reinforcing because they increase dopamine release. The concentration of dopamine receptors is densest during adolescence, accounting for the natural tendency to engage in exhilarating behaviors. Drug use can cause larger dopamine releases than natural rewards. The developmental drive for highly stimulating experiences “sets up” teenagers and young adults for drug use.
At the same time, the prefrontal cortex—the brain’s center for executive functioning—continues to mature throughout adolescence and into young adulthood. This creates a developmental mismatch: adolescents are drawn to intense stimulation but lack fully developed abilities to anticipate consequences and evaluate risks.
Dr. Levy emphasizes that while different drugs affect different brain regions, their use outside narrow therapeutic windows can have devastating consequences. Teens are in the crosshairs: their natural curiosity, risk-taking, overconfidence, penchant for large brain rewards, and immature ability to think through consequences create a perfect storm for drug use, and immature prefrontal cortexes increase the risk for substance use disorders.
Learning objectives
- To explain which parts of the brain develops during adolescence and how their development relates to substance use initiation;
- To explain why adolescents are more vulnerable to developing substance use disorders than adults;
- To describe outcomes that are associated with cannabis use during adolescence
- To name the receptor in the human central nervous system that nicotine binds to
Interactive overview
Use the interactive programme below to gain an overview of the topic, meet the speaker, test your knowledge, and a whole lot more!
About the speaker
Sharon Levy, MD, MPH is a Pediatrician, Addiction Medicine specialist, Chief of the Division of Addiction Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital and Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. She has evaluated and treated thousands of adolescents with substance use disorders, conducted research and written extensively on the topic. In 2016 she established the nation’s first accredited Pediatric Addiction Medicine Fellowship training program, and in 2023 she was appointed Chief of the first Division of Addiction Medicine at a pediatric medical center in the US.