According to a recent medical study, teens whose mothers drank while pregnant may find the smell of alcohol more appealing than their peers do.
[From Telegraph]
Researchers found that teenagers found the smell of alcohol more appealing if their mothers had drunk while they were in the womb.
This attraction could increase their chances of suffering a drink problem in later life, researchers believe.
The study, carried out in pregnant rats, showed that by the time offspring hit adolescence they responded more strongly to the smell of alcohol on others if they had been exposed to it before they were born.
Steven Youngentob, from the State University of New York, who led the study, said: “These results highlight an important relationship between fetal and adolescent experiences that appears essential to the progressive development of alcohol abuse.”
His team believe that being exposed to alcohol in the womb trains the brain to make the smell of a tipple more appealing.
This happens to all mammals, including humans, they believe, because it is evolutionary important for a child to like foods eaten by its parents.
By contrast, rats whose mothers were not given alcohol while pregnant were not as attracted to the smell.
The study, published in the journal Behavioural and Brain Functions, also found that the teenage years were when attraction to the aroma of alcohol appeared to heighten.
The researchers believe this is crucial, as adolescence is a key time in which early patterns of behaviour which can lead to alcohol addiction can begin.
To read the rest of this article, click here.
