Alcohol Drinking, Alcohol; Harmful Use, Alcohol Intoxication, Alcoholism, Alcohol Use Disorder, Binge Drinking
Conditions
Brief summary
In this study, the investigators aim to capture inter- and intra-brain mechanisms underlying alcohol reward in novel social context.
Detailed description
Objective: Alcohol's ability to boost mood in the face of stress is perhaps its most notoriously addictive property, long held by researchers to be of critical importance for understanding alcohol use disorder (AUD) etiology. Yet, while most real-world alcohol consumption occurs in social settings, in the context of laboratory studies, participants have almost always consumed alcohol alone. The discrepancy between real-world and laboratory contexts emerges as particularly stark in the neuroimaging literature, where no alcohol-administration study to date has incorporated in-vivo social context. In this first alcohol-administration study to leverage EEG hyperscanning methods, the investigators aim to capture inter- and intra-brain mechanisms underlying alcohol reward in novel social context. Specifically, this study aims to characterize the mechanisms driving social reward from alcohol in the context of stress and elucidate the role of social processes and novel social context in driving problem drinking. Study Population: Participants will consist of 240 regular drinkers, aged 21-30, with no reported history of severe alcohol use disorder. Design: In the laboratory arm of the study, individuals will be randomly assigned to consume either a moderate dose of alcohol or a control beverage in stranger dyads. Participants will engage in both structured and unstructured tasks aimed at assessing social engagement and threat sensitivity. EEG and ERP data will be collected from both participants simultaneously. In the ambulatory study arm, participants will wear transdermal sensors to assess BAC and will further provide information about their mood and their social contexts in response to random prompts. Outcome Measures: Primary outcome measures include EEG measures of inter-brain entrainment as well as ERP metrics derived from task contexts (both players and observers). Additional outcomes include measures of positive mood, negative mood, and social bonding. Finally, drinking behaviors will be assessed via transdermal ambulatory alcohol sensors and longitudinal self-reports of drinking.
Interventions
None listed
Sponsors
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Study design
Observational model
OTHER
Time perspective
OTHER
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
21 Years to 30 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Between the ages of 21 and 30 * Regularly consumes alcohol
Exclusion criteria
* History of adverse reaction to the amount of beverage employed in the study * Have a history of major problems associated with alcohol * Take medications that could adversely interact with alcohol * Have medical conditions that contraindicate alcohol administration * Individuals with a history of skull fractures or who indicate discomfort with EEG procedures used * Female participant is pregnant or trying to become pregnant
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Inter-brain entrainment | During active laboratory beverage manipulation exposure (during or immediately after beverage administration, at which time participants in the alcohol condition will register a positive BAC) | The association between dyad-members EEG signals during the hyperscanning task |
| Feedback-related negativity | During active laboratory beverage manipulation exposure (during or immediately after beverage administration, at which time participants in the alcohol condition will register a positive BAC) | An ERP component calculated from a time-estimation task |
| Ambulatory Drinking | 14 days | Drinking behavior assessed outside the laboratory using ambulatory assessment |
| Longitudinal Drinking Problems | Up to 24 months post-baseline | Drinking assessed at longitudinal follow-up |
Countries
United States
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORCatharine E Fairbairn, Ph.D.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Outcome results
None listed