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The alcoholic vodka mixed with energy drinks has become a holiday classic, but can be a real bomb for teenagers.
Researchers at Purdue University in Indiana, United States, did tests with the brains of adolescent mice (as it was not ethically correct to do with humans) and observed several chemical changes in the brain mass, changes closely resemble the effects that cocaine produces.
An energy drink can have up to ten times more caffeine than a regular soda, and is usually consumed by teens to enjoy and endure night-outs. It was already known that young people who consume energy drinks (even without mixing with other drinks) are more likely to become alcohol consumers during adulthood.
However, when these drinks are mixed with alcohol and consumed during adolescence, the reward center of the brain is altered, causing young people to have more difficulties to experience pleasurable substances. The effects can last throughout adulthood.
The mice that drank alcohol mixed energy drink became much more active, as expected, and their brains were flooded with “ΔFosB,” common in people who use cocaine or morphine protein. In adulthood, the mice were much more resistant to the feeling of pleasure which situation is produced by cocain, which may suggest that require higher doses of the drug.
“Everything points to mixed substances cause behavioral changes in brain’s neurochemistry,” concludes Richard van Rijn, one of the study authors. “Clearly there is an effect when taking this mixture; however, it would not arise if energizers and alcohol were taken separately.”