Each year, Brain Awareness Week (celebrated this year from March 11-17) seeks to increase awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research.
The brain is the most complex and probably the most important organ in your body.
Aside from your thoughts, memories, and feelings, it also controls and regulates your breathing, blood pressure and tons of other functions that we don’t even consciously think about.
Drug use has a huge effect on how your brain develops, especially during your teen years since the brain isn’t done developing until about the age of 25. For instance, many studies have pointed out how teen marijuana use can affect your memory and reasoning.
The video below explores how brains are similar to computers, and how drug use can have a long-lasting impact on a teen’s life.
Learn more about the effects of drugs on the brain on NIDA's website.