# Characterizing the effects of family history of alcoholism on alcohol analgesia

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · 2022 · $475,995

## Abstract

Project Summary
Pain is the most common reason that patients seek medical attention. Acute pain is an essential indicator of
current or impending tissue damage. However, chronic pain is a maladaptive state with strong affective,
biological, and psychological components. Chronic pain is extremely costly and has strong negative effects on
sufferers’ quality of life. Existing treatments for chronic pain, including opioid analgesics, are relatively
ineffective. Perhaps as a result of the lack of efficacious treatments, it has been recently reported that nearly
25% of individuals suffering from chronic oral and/or musculoskeletal pain self-medicate through the oral
consumption of alcohol. Indeed, alcohol interacts with a wide range of relevant pharmacologic targets capable
of modulating the experience of pain. However, the biological mechanisms underlying this intuitive interaction
are not well established. This relationship is important to understand because alcohol analgesia may act as a
potent negative reinforcer for alcohol intake, which, in turn, can have adverse health effects by increasing risk
of developing an alcohol use disorder. Familial risk for alcoholism, along with sex and certain mood/personality
factors, may act as critical modulators of individual sensitivity to alcohol analgesia. However, it is currently
unclear whether this sensitivity is the result of neurobiological, and/or learned factors. By characterizing
independent contributions of each of these factors, this proposal will improve understanding of the interplay
between pain/alcohol sensitivity, sex, and family history of alcoholism as a modulator of sensitivity to alcohol
analgesia. These efforts will inform further research and clinical/translational efforts regarding risk associated
with self-medication of pain by consuming alcohol. Critically, the impact of these factors on the functional
neural correlates of alcohol analgesia will also be determined, improving mechanistic understanding of alcohol
analgesia.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10434712
- **Project number:** 5R01AA025337-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
- **Principal Investigator:** Michael E ROBINSON
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $475,995
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-05 → 2024-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10434712

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10434712, Characterizing the effects of family history of alcoholism on alcohol analgesia (5R01AA025337-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10434712. Licensed CC0.

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