# Serial Nights of Alcohol Administration:  Impact on Sleep and Next-Day Neurocognitive Function and Alertness

> **NIH NIH R01** · EMMA PENDLETON BRADLEY HOSPITAL · 2021 · $448,956

## Abstract

Summary Abstract
Given the scope of the alcohol problem in the US, our interdisciplinary team has come together with two
distinct scientific outlooks to examine the interaction of alcohol and sleep with neurocognitive performance and
whether this interaction may help identify strategies to improve treatment outcomes for alcohol use disorders
(AUD). AUD psychosocial treatments have been developed that span a number of approaches, but all such
interventions depend on intact cognitive function to be effective. Many aspects of neurocognitive function
required to learn and apply psychosocial skills, however, are adversely affected by repeated alcohol use and
sleep disturbance. Effective use of the skills taught by psychotherapy requires neurocognitive functioning
consistent with 1) learning skills, 2) assessing the need for skills both ahead of time and in the moment, and 3)
implementing skills when needed. The combination of continued heavy alcohol use and associated sleep
disruption likely prevents patients' realizations of the full benefits of effective psychosocial interventions.
Approaches to improving sleep in the context of AUD and psychosocial interventions must target aspects of
sleep most predictive of impaired neurocognitive functioning, particularly under conditions of repeated alcohol
use. The effects of serial (i.e., multi-night) alcohol administration and sleep disruption and their interactive
effect on neurocognitive function are unknown. Furthermore, there is a notable lack of alcohol and sleep-
related laboratory research in mature adults (defined as 35-50), including assessment of potential male-female
differences. Our approach is to test sleep and next-day neurocognitive effects in mature heavy-drinking adults
after administering alcohol (targeted BAC of .1g%) on consecutive nights in a controlled laboratory setting
under three sleep conditions: nominal (drinking followed by 8.5 h sleep on “usual sleep schedule”), delayed
(drinking followed by 8.5 h sleep 3 h later than usual sleep), and delayed/restricted (drinking followed by 5.5 h
sleep 3 h later than usual). These study conditions provide the opportunity to explore neurocognitive
consequences of alcohol's effects on sleep, but also to pursue fundamental research questions. These studies
will 1) assess the influence of 3 nights' alcohol administration under 3 sleep conditions (nominal, delayed,
delayed/restricted) on next-day neurocognitive performance and alertness/sleepiness; 2) assess the
associations among serial nightly alcohol administration, rate of alcohol metabolism, and 3 sleep conditions
and sleep physiology; and 3) we will explore sleep and alcohol variables for mechanistic influences on next-
day neurocognitive functioning.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10130422
- **Project number:** 5R01AA025593-05
- **Recipient organization:** EMMA PENDLETON BRADLEY HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Mary A Carskadon
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $448,956
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-04-10 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10130422

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10130422, Serial Nights of Alcohol Administration:  Impact on Sleep and Next-Day Neurocognitive Function and Alertness (5R01AA025593-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10130422. Licensed CC0.

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