# Ventral Prefrontal Network Connectivity and Alcohol Sensitivity in Bipolar Disorder and Typically Developing Young Adults

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · 2022 · $20,401

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
This Ruth L. Kirschstein PreDoctoral Individual National Research Award describes a research and training
program that will prepare the applicant, Dylan Kirsch, for a career as an independent research scientist focused
on the role of psychiatric illness in alcohol use disorders. The proposed research plan will test neurobiological
mechanisms that contribute to altered sensitivity to alcohol in bipolar disorder and typically developing young
adults. Differences in subjective response to alcohol predict alcohol use problems and risk for alcohol use
disorders in typically developing youth, however the mechanisms that contribute to this risk—or if similar
mechanisms are observed—in psychiatric illness are unclear. We will test the hypothesis that structural
connectivity within ventral prefrontal cortical networks is related to alcohol-induced changes in network functional
connectivity, and therefore, subjective sensitivity to alcohol. Results from the project have the potential to inform
our understanding of neurobiological mechanisms that contribute to risk for alcohol use disorders in bipolar
disorder and typically developing young adults. The applicant and mentors, Drs. Elizabeth Lippard and Kim
Fromme have designed a comprehensive research and training plan to test this hypothesis. The training plan
emphasizes 1) conceptual training in the neurobiological mechanisms and clinical issues in bipolar and alcohol
use disorders; 2) methodological training in advanced neuroimaging (functional connectivity and diffusion tensor
imaging [DTI] methodology) and placebo-controlled alcohol administration; and 3) career development skills,
including mentorship, statistics, teaching, writing, and responsible conduct of research. Research aims are to 1)
determine if changes in ventral prefrontal network functional connectivity in response to alcohol—during
emotional processing—are different in bipolar disorder, compared to typically developing young adults, and if
alcohol-induced changes in functional connectivity within these networks relate to subjective response to alcohol;
and 2) if structural connectivity within ventral prefrontal networks relates to subjective response to alcohol and
alcohol-induced changes in functional connectivity. Young adults (ages 21-26) with bipolar disorder and typically
developing controls (n=30 per group) will complete DTI at baseline and functional MRI during placebo-controlled
laboratory alcohol administration sessions (within subject, counter-balanced). We predict alcohol will weaken
functional connectivity in the ventral prefrontal network and that magnitude of change will be smaller in bipolar
disorder, compared to controls, with smaller magnitude of change associated with lower subjective response to
alcohol. We predict weaker structural connectivity will relate to lower subjective response to alcohol and smaller
alcohol-induced changes in functional connectivity in both groups. Findings will aid in our unde...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10315831
- **Project number:** 1F31AA029005-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Dylan E Kirsch
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $20,401
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2023-01-23

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10315831

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10315831, Ventral Prefrontal Network Connectivity and Alcohol Sensitivity in Bipolar Disorder and Typically Developing Young Adults (1F31AA029005-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10315831. Licensed CC0.

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