The popularity of energy drinks and junk food might have unique risks for teenagers who consume too much of them during the later stages of brain development. These are just two of the factors potentially affecting teen brain development examined in a new special issue of Birth Defects Research: The Teenage Brain, published by the Teratology Society with John Wiley & Sons. The scientific journal issue released includes “Taurine, Caffeine, and Energy Drinks: Reviewing the Risks to the Adolescent Brain,” a team at Northern Kentucky University, headed by lead author Christine Curran, PhD, and her co-author Cecile Marczinski, PhD. According to Dr. Curran, not only is the rise in energy drink consumption (often mixed with alcohol) among teens alarming, but so are animal studies showing its effects on brain development. “Our review indicates that we don’t know enough about the effects of high consumption of energy drinks and the ingredients found in them at this critical time in mammalian brain development,” she said. “Our recent findings in adolescent and young adult mice exposed to high taurine levels indicate there can be adverse effects on learning and memory and increased alcohol consumption in females.”