Skip to content Search : for Menu Our Bloggers Our Substack Follow Us Bluesky Threads FaceBook Google News Twitter X Contribute Contact Brain Structure May Predispose Teens to Early Substance Use December 31, 2024 Washington University in St . Louis In a surprising reversal of conventional wisdom , new research suggests that certain brain features may predispose adolescents to try substances early in life , rather than brain differences being caused by substance use . itself Washington University researchers analyzed brain scans from nearly 10,000 children , uncovering structural differences that existed before any substance exposure . The study , published in JAMA Network Open , compared participants who tried substances before age 15 with those who . didn’t What we looked at was whether