Despite many studies to the contrary, a researcher at Utrecht University has found no hard evidence of alcohol having a serious effect on teenage brains.

Sarai Boelema tracked 2,230 teenagers and found that those who drank alcohol did not perform worse than non-drinkers when it came to their memory, impulsive behaviour and concentration, the Volkskrant says on Thursday.

The paper says Boelema took a different approach to most researchers into the effect of alcohol on teenage brains by selecting a representative group of Dutch teenagers to follow. They were divided into six groups, from non-drinkers to those who drank more than six glasses of alcohol at least once a week over a four year period.

Research which indicates problems focuses on teenagers who are addicted to alcohol. ‘The fact is this cognitive function has been generalised. In addition, addicts often have psychiatric problems and this may explain their poor cognitive performance,’ she told the paper.

More research is needed on the effect of drinking alcohol on youngsters, Boelema says. But her research does point to a more subtle impact than current studies indicate.

However, junior health minister Martin van Rijn, who has increased the legal drinking age in the Netherlands to 19, is critical.

‘There are scores of research projects which show the damage alcohol has on unborn children through to drinking yourself into a coma and the relationship with problematic behaviour,’ he told the Volkskrant.