# Oxytocin to Enhance Alcohol Behavioral Couple Therapy

> **NIH NIH R01** · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · 2020 · $560,255

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The development of effective pharmacotherapies to treat alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a public health priority.
Few medications are currently approved to treat AUD and those that are remain limited by modest treatment
responses. Combining pharmacological interventions with evidence-based behavioral interventions may help
optimize treatment outcomes. While several effective behavioral interventions for AUD have been developed,
the vast majority target individual patients, despite evidence that behavioral interventions for couples with AUD
outperform individual treatments for AUD. Alcohol Behavioral Couples Therapy (ABCT) is an evidence-based
behavioral intervention for couples that has been shown to significantly reduce AUD severity as well as improve
relationship functioning, which is an important mechanism in treatment outcome for AUD. Accumulating evidence
from our group and others suggests that oxytocin is a promising candidate pharmacotherapy to further enhance
ABCT, reduce AUD severity and improve relationship functioning. Previous studies demonstrate oxytocin's ability
to reduce craving, alcohol consumption, symptoms of tolerance and withdrawal, and ameliorate neurobiological
deficits associated with AUD. Furthermore, oxytocin has been shown to increase prosocial factors (e.g., trust,
social cognition) and restore sensitivity to natural rewards (e.g., intimate relationships). To date, no studies have
examined the synergistic effects of combining oxytocin with ABCT in the treatment of AUD. Thus, the primary
objective of this Stage II study is to examine the effects of oxytocin versus placebo in combination with ABCT in
reducing AUD severity and improving relationship functioning. We will also utilize advanced neuroimaging
techniques before and after treatment to investigate the underlying pathophysiology of AUD among couples and
identify prognostic indicators of treatment outcome. To accomplish this, we will (1) employ a two-arm
randomized, double-blind, between-groups experimental design that will consist of 12 weeks of ABCT treatment
with oxytocin or placebo; (2) use standardized, repeated dependent measures of change including alcohol
biomarkers at five time points (baseline, week 6, week 12, and 3- and 6-month follow-up); (3) measure
impairment in associated mental and behavioral health problems (e.g., depression); and (4) use functional
magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine changes in corticolimbic connectivity. The proposed study
directly addresses the mission of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) in that it aims
to examine the efficacy of a novel pharmacologic agent for the treatment of AUD. The findings from this study
will provide critical new information to help inform clinical practice and accelerate research on the
pharmacological treatment of AUD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9961452
- **Project number:** 5R01AA027212-03
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
- **Principal Investigator:** JULIANNE Christina Flanagan
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $560,255
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-20 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9961452

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9961452, Oxytocin to Enhance Alcohol Behavioral Couple Therapy (5R01AA027212-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9961452. Licensed CC0.

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