The Curriculum
Risky Business: a laboratory-based investigation of the physiological effects of alcohol (grades 9 – 12) is designed to help your child explore the science behind alcohol. At the end of the program, your child will better understand the effects of alcohol on the body and brain. This program provides a particular emphasis on how alcohol consumption makes adolescents susceptible to risk-taking behavior and poor decision-making.
This hands-on curriculum is taught as part of students’ science class. The students actively participate in a series of laboratory experiments as they explore how the body metabolizes alcohol, how alcohol affects behavior, and how alcohol affects the brain.
Alcohol and the Brain
There is new research suggesting that alcohol, tobacco and illicit drugs act differently on developing adolescent brains than they do on mature adult brains. Early use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs may actually alter brain development resulting in long-lasting changes. Research has show that areas of the brain that encourage impulsive behavior develop earlier than those areas that improve self control and inhibit risk taking behavior.
