# Effects of experimentally-induced reductions in alcohol consumption on brain cognitive, and clinical outcomes and motivation for changing drinking in older persons with HIV infection

> **NIH NIH U01** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2020 · $133,466

## Abstract

Abstract
Persons living with HIV (PLWH) are an especially vulnerable population in the COVID-19 pandemic given their
compromised immune system and comorbidities (e.g., substance use, mental health issues). Currently, no
research has examined how the broad impacts of COVID-19 (e.g., extended social isolation, anxiety, family
loss) are affecting alcohol use and care engagement in PLWH. Further, it is unclear whether these impacts
affect cognition or the brain. This urgent supplement will allow us to capture this window of opportunity and
collect timely data to address these gaps. Our ongoing U01 study of a cohort consisting of PLWH and persons
without HIV focusing on using a contingency management protocol to reduce alcohol consumption provides
many unique strengths to support this supplement. This supplement is within the scope of the parent grant
but extents the parent study by incorporating COVID-19-related questions/measures into the ongoing data
collection. We will collect additional data through questionnaires, electronic at-home cognitive testing via
CANTAB Connect, stress severity quantification via cortisol analysis of hair samples, and qualitative
interviews. We will also conduct COVID-19 antibody tests (through blood samples) and MRIs that we conduct
as part of the parent grant procedure. The specific aims of this supplement include: 1) Determine the
influence of specific psychosocial factors (e.g., social isolation, loneliness, anxiety, and food and housing
insecurity) on alcohol use trajectory and HIV-related health behavior and outcomes (ART adherence, and
health care engagement) during the period of the pandemic and social distancing. We will also examine which
baseline factors (e.g., clinical, demographic, neuroimaging, cognitive) best predict individual differences in
outcome; 2) Assess the feasibility and acceptability of (1) an at-home, electronically delivered neurocognitive
assessment on the CANTAB Connect system and (2) participant mail-in hair samples. For those willing and
able to complete one or both of these measures, we will examine the relationships of the psychosocial factors
assessed in Aim 1 on cognitive performance and/or stress severity as measured by cortisol levels from hair
samples obtained from participants; 3) Obtain additional neuroimaging from participants to ensure we have
data from both before and after the coronavirus crisis, and (should there be sufficient prevalence), determine
whether participants found to have been infected with COVID-19 (with or without symptoms) have a greater
extent of white matter hypersensitivity (WMH) on FLAIR brain MRI, along with other associated structural,
functional, and metabolic brain changes (fMRI, MRS); and an exploratory aim to will conduct a qualitative
interview to explore factors that are subjectively judged to be interfering with drinking abstinence and HIV
medication adherence, and what might help in this regard. These results will provide valuable evidence on how
...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10178230
- **Project number:** 3U01AA020797-10S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** RONALD A COHEN
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $133,466
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2011-09-25 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10178230

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10178230, Effects of experimentally-induced reductions in alcohol consumption on brain cognitive, and clinical outcomes and motivation for changing drinking in older persons with HIV infection (3U01AA020797-10S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10178230. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*