# Neurogenetic influences linking impulsive personality traits and alcohol use disorder progression across development

> **NIH NIH K01** · INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS · 2024 · $183,449

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a prevalent global health problem with substantial social, economic, and public
health costs. Progression from initial alcohol exposure to AUD often begins in adolescence and emerging
adulthood with impulsive personality traits (IPTs) being critical developmental risk factors. However, there is
limited understanding of the dynamic longitudinal interplay between IPTs and alcohol involvement from childhood
to adulthood and the role neurobiological and genetic vulnerability play in this etiology in part because: 1)
longitudinal studies of IPT-AUD associations to date typically characterize specific developmental epochs (e.g.,
late adolescence), rarely comprehensively examining these associations across the full developmental span; 2)
studies of neuroanatomical variation associated with IPT-AUD pathways are primarily based on small, cross-
sectional datasets and restricted subsets of brain regions, despite accumulating evidence that large samples
sizes are necessary to reliably characterize brain-phenotype associations and the importance of
neurodevelopmental trajectories on complex behavior; and 3) large-scale genome-wide association studies of
IPTs have been primarily conducted in older adults of European ancestry, despite the clear developmental
context underlying IPT-AUD pathways and need for further incorporation of diverse ancestral populations into
genomics research. This K01 proposal addresses these gaps by: 1) Aim 1: characterizing developmental
associations (childhood to middle adulthood) between distinct IPTs, heavy alcohol use, and AUD progression
through data harmonization and longitudinal integrative data analysis of 16 extant primarily longitudinal study
samples (N=85,862); 2) Aim 2: examining whether IPTs represent plausible mechanisms through which brain
structure is linked to alcohol involvement using a subset of 9 neuroimaging studies (N=17,297) spanning
childhood to young adulthood; and 3) Aim 3: identifying developmentally specific genetic influences on IPTs,
alcohol involvement, and the links between them to assess genetic stability and/or uniqueness across
development using trans-ancestral genetic data. This K01 would provide the applicant with training to facilitate
transition to career independence by enabling him to: 1) acquire expertise in longitudinal data harmonization and
integrative data analytic approaches; 2) build a foundational neuroimaging data analysis skill set and
developmental addiction neuroscience knowledge base; 3) expand genomic analytic expertise to encompass
trans-ancestral and longitudinal genome-wide association study approaches; and 4) cultivate professional and
career development toward an independent research career. Collectively, this proposal would prepare the
applicant to lead an innovative research program into the genetic and biological etiology of AUD development
as an independent investigator and would provide novel insights into the devel...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10947990
- **Project number:** 1K01AA031724-01
- **Recipient organization:** INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Alex Parker Miller
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $183,449
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-06 → 2029-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10947990

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10947990, Neurogenetic influences linking impulsive personality traits and alcohol use disorder progression across development (1K01AA031724-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10947990. Licensed CC0.

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