# Biological Risk Factors for the Prospective Development of Alcohol Use Disorders in Young Adults with Bipolar Disorder and Typically Developing Young Adults

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · 2024 · $648,329

## Abstract

Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) affect up to 60% of individuals with bipolar disorder during their lifetime and is
associated with worse illness outcomes, yet few studies have been performed to clarify the causes of this
comorbidity. Understanding biological risk factors that associate with and predict the development of AUDs in
bipolar disorder could inform interventions and prevention efforts to reduce the rate of this comorbidity and
improve outcomes of both disorders. Identifying predictors of risk requires longitudinal studies in bipolar disorder
aimed at capturing the mechanisms leading to the emergence of AUDs. Previous work in AUDs suggest that
subjective responses to alcohol and stress-related mechanisms may contribute to the development of AUDs. In
bipolar disorder, altered developmental trajectory of critical ventral prefrontal networks that modulate mood and
reward processing may alter responses to alcohol and stressors; consequently, the disruption in typical
neurodevelopment may be an underlying factor for the high rates of comorbidity. No longitudinal data exist
investigating if this developmental hypothesis is correct. To address this gap, we will use a multimodal
neuroimaging approach, modeling structural and functional neural trajectories of corticolimbic networks over
young adulthood, incorporating alcohol administration procedures, clinical phenotyping, and investigating effects
of acute stress exposure and early life stress. Research aims are to identify biological risk factors—i.e., changes
in subjective response to alcohol and associated neural trajectories—that are associated with the development
of alcohol misuse and symptoms of AUDs over a two-year longitudinal period in young adults with bipolar
disorder and typical developing young adults. Longitudinal data will be collected on 160 young adults (50% with
bipolar disorder, 50% female; aged 21-26). This study is a natural extension of the PI's K01 award. How acute
exposure to stress and childhood maltreatment affects subjective response to alcohol and risk for prospective
alcohol misuse and symptoms of AUDs will be investigated. We will test our hypothesis that developmental
differences in bipolar disorder versus typical developing individuals disrupt corticolimbic networks during young
adulthood, increase sensitivity to stress, and lead to changes in subjective response to alcohol and placebo
response increasing risk for developing AUDs. This research project will be conducted by a multidisciplinary
team of investigators with expertise in bipolar disorder, AUDs, substance use disorders, stress, longitudinal
modeling, neuroimaging, and alcohol administration methodology. Essential to successfully improving clinical
prognosis in bipolar disorder are research results that enable better prediction, diagnosis, and treatment based
on the individual. There is a paucity of human clinical research investigating interactions between subjective
response to alcohol/placebo, corticolim...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10807006
- **Project number:** 5R01AA030038-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Elizabeth Thomas Cox Lippard
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $648,329
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-03-10 → 2028-02-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10807006

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10807006, Biological Risk Factors for the Prospective Development of Alcohol Use Disorders in Young Adults with Bipolar Disorder and Typically Developing Young Adults (5R01AA030038-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10807006. Licensed CC0.

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