A laboratory paradigm is proposed to evaluate the effects of pharmacological interventions on voluntary alcohol consumption. In this design, subjects are provided with five opportunities to complete an operant task in order to earn an alcoholic beverage or an alternative reinforcer. Should alcohol be chosen, the pace and style of drinking is monitored. In addition, assessments are made of the subject's subjective, physiological, neuropeptide, and neuroendocrine responses. The design permits examination of the rate and amount of alcohol consumed, the reinforcing value of alcohol, responses to intoxication, and the relationship between responses to alcohol and further drinking. This paradigm will be used to investigate the effects of naltrexone, a narcotic antagonist, on voluntary alcohol consumption. In clinical trials, naltrexone has been shown to result in higher rates of continuous abstinence, fewer drinking days, and lower rates of relapse than placebo. In the proposed research, the mechanisms by which naltrexone is effective will be evaluated to: 1) determine whether subjects on naltrexone exhibit greater reductions in voluntary alcohol consumption than subjects on placebo; 2) determine whether naltrexone modifies the subjective, physiological, neuropeptide, and neuroendocrine responses to alcohol; 3) evaluate whether these responses to alcohol predict further voluntary alcohol consumption; and 4) determine whether the effects of naltrexone vary according to gender. If our hypotheses regarding naltrexone's ability to reduce alcohol consumption are confirmed, this paradigm will be used to test other promising pharmacotherapies, thereby providing an important bridge between carefully controlled animal studies and full scale clinical trials in humans.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Type
Specialized Center (P50)
Project #
5P50AA003510-20
Application #
6233789
Study Section
Project Start
1996-12-01
Project End
1997-11-30
Budget Start
1996-10-01
Budget End
1997-09-30
Support Year
20
Fiscal Year
1997
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Connecticut
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Farmington
State
CT
Country
United States
Zip Code
06030
Rash, Carla J; Petry, Nancy M; Alessi, Sheila M et al. (2018) Monitoring Alcohol Use in Heavy Drinking Soup Kitchen Attendees. Alcohol :
Rash, Carla J; Petry, Nancy M; Alessi, Sheila M (2018) A randomized trial of contingency management for smoking cessation in the homeless. Psychol Addict Behav 32:141-148
Rash, Carla J; Alessi, Sheila M; Petry, Nancy M (2017) Substance Abuse Treatment Patients in Housing Programs Respond to Contingency Management Interventions. J Subst Abuse Treat 72:97-102
Lieberman, Richard; Armeli, Stephen; Scott, Denise M et al. (2016) FKBP5 genotype interacts with early life trauma to predict heavy drinking in college students. Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet 171:879-87
Rash, Carla J; Petry, Nancy M (2016) Gambling Disorder in the DSM-5: Opportunities to Improve Diagnosis and Treatment Especially in Substance Use and Homeless Populations. Curr Addict Rep 3:249-253
Meredith, Steven E; Alessi, Sheila M; Petry, Nancy M (2015) Smartphone applications to reduce alcohol consumption and help patients with alcohol use disorder: a state-of-the-art review. Adv Health Care Technol 1:47-54
Armeli, Stephen; Sullivan, Tami P; Tennen, Howard (2015) Drinking to Cope Motivation as a Prospective Predictor of Negative Affect. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 76:578-84
Ohannessian, Christine McCauley; Finan, Laura J; Schulz, Jessica et al. (2015) A Long-Term Longitudinal Examination of the Effect of Early Onset of Alcohol and Drug Use on Later Alcohol Abuse. Subst Abus 36:440-4
O'Hara, Ross E; Armeli, Stephen; Tennen, Howard (2014) College students' daily-level reasons for not drinking. Drug Alcohol Rev 33:412-9
Sun, Jiangwen; Bi, Jinbo; Kranzler, Henry R (2014) Multiview comodeling to improve subtyping and genetic association of complex diseases. IEEE J Biomed Health Inform 18:548-54

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