# 6/8: INIA Stress and Chronic Alcohol Interactions: Stress and Ethanol Self Administration in Monkeys

> **NIH NIH U01** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $611,814

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Chronic, heavy alcohol consumption leads to a disruption of stress homeostasis and a feed-forward cycle of
alcohol-stress interactions that further exacerbate alcohol drinking. The rhesus monkey model of alcohol self-
administration has documented allostatic changes within key brain areas associated with chronic heavy alcohol
drinking. These include hypothalamic control of the stress axis and the dorsal striatum (caudate and putamen)
implicated in control of action selection. Specifically, the striatal and HPA axis neuroadaptations were associated
with an increase in alcohol drinking during relapse, deficits in flexibility in action selection and shift in the
excitatory-to-inhibitory balance favoring the sensorimotor neurocircuitry. The proposed studies will exploit
individual differences in stress regulation and behavioral flexibility to identify mechanisms underlying excessive
drinking and susceptibility to relapse. The integrative designs encompass: self-administration with repeated
abstinence/relapse cycles in rhesus monkeys; longitudinal measures of flexibility in action selection, stress
response and integrity of brain neurocircuitry using rs-fMRI; manipulating cortico-dorsostriatal circuits in primate
brain using designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drug (DREADDs) to alter ethanol drinking,
behavioral flexibility and stress response. Ultimately, this project aims to define the role of cortico-striatal circuitry
in protecting or facilitating excessive alcohol drinking. The research will also contribute to emerging sex
differences in the stress response to chronic drinking through a balanced sex design.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10410196
- **Project number:** 2U01AA013510-22
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** KATHLEEN A GRANT
- **Activity code:** U01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $611,814
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2002-02-01 → 2027-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10410196

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10410196, 6/8: INIA Stress and Chronic Alcohol Interactions: Stress and Ethanol Self Administration in Monkeys (2U01AA013510-22). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10410196. Licensed CC0.

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