# Alcohol Stimulation and Sedation in Binge Drinkers - Renewal 01

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO · 2021 · $638,190

## Abstract

Abstract
Adverse effects of excessive drinking are widespread in society. Understanding the factors that contribute to
excessive alcohol consumption is crucial for improved prevention, education, and intervention. The goal of the
Chicago Social Drinking Project (CSDP) is to evaluate the role of subjective and physiologic responses to
alcohol in the escalation and maintenance of excessive drinking in adults. Our paradigm integrates human
laboratory alcohol challenge with longitudinal assessment of drinking and related behaviors to discern whether
alcohol responses predict future drinking problems and alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms. The CSDP has
demonstrated that heightened sensitivity to alcohol stimulation and reward (liking, wanting) characterize young
adult heavy drinkers (HD) versus light drinkers (LD) and these responses are primary predictors of future
drinking progression and development of AUD over a decade later. This alcohol response phenotype is also
evident in a newly-tested cohort of young adult AUD drinkers. Contrary to prevailing models of addiction
propensity, our findings show a pervasive and sustained heightened sensitivity to alcohol stimulation and
reward in excessive drinkers, and not low reward and negative reinforcement. In this award phase, we propose
to further advance new discoveries and challenge existing paradigms by continuing to examine our high-
retention cohorts in CSDP as well as enroll new cohorts. In Aim 1, we will extend a final follow-up wave in our
existing HD and LD as well as extend follow-up in our ongoing young adult AUD cohort (N=398; >98%
retention) to discern binge drinking severity, AUD symptoms, and drinking consequences during middle
adulthood to evaluate the role of early-adult stimulating, rewarding, and sedating alcohol responses in
predicting these behaviors. In Aims 2 and 3, we will enroll two new cohorts historically excluded from alcohol
challenge research to provide potentially the most robust tests on the role of alcohol responses in excessive
drinking. These include young adult HD with affective disorder (n=100) and older, chronic AUD drinkers
(n=100; non-treatment-seeking), and their respective control groups (n=70 each), to determine if their alcohol
response phenotype is characterized primarily by stimulation and reward sensitivity or by reward insensitivity
and relief of negative affect or withdrawal states, as commonly theorized. These participants will undergo
similar alcohol and placebo laboratory sessions and follow-up on drinking behaviors and AUD symptoms, as in
established cohorts. As well-controlled research examining biphasic alcohol responses in clinically-relevant
subgroups of comorbid and older AUD drinkers is lacking, determining their alcohol response phenotype offers
a unique opportunity to test current theories of incentive-sensitization, reward sensitivity, and positive/negative
reinforcement models of the development and maintenance of addictive behavior.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10087455
- **Project number:** 5R01AA013746-18
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** ANDREA C KING
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $638,190
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2003-06-05 → 2024-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10087455

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10087455, Alcohol Stimulation and Sedation in Binge Drinkers - Renewal 01 (5R01AA013746-18). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10087455. Licensed CC0.

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