Nicotinic Receptor Genetic Variation and Alcohol Reward
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2023-12-31
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Background:
People with the brain disease AUD (alcohol use disorder) have a serious problem with
drinking. Researchers want to study how different people react to alcohol, and how genes
affect this. They will focus on a nicotine receptor gene that may increase a person s AUD
risk.
Objectives:
To see if people with variations of a nicotine receptor gene take alcohol differently and
have different brain responses to alcohol cues.
Eligibility:
Healthy adults ages 21 - 60. This study includes smokers and non-smokers.
Design:
Participants will be screened under another protocol.
Participants will have three 9-hour visits. They must have no alcohol or non-prescription
drugs before all visits and no food or drink before 2 visits.
At every visit, participants will:
- Get a light meal
- Have breath and urine tests
- Get taxi rides there and back
At visits 1 and 3, participants will:
- Have a thin plastic tube inserted in an arm and connected to a pump for alcohol
infusion.
- Have sensors on their chest to monitor heart rate.
- Sit in a chair for 2.5 hours and get alcohol by pushing a button. Their breath alcohol
level will be monitored.
- Answer questions about mood and effects of alcohol
- Give blood samples
- Relax at the clinic while their breath alcohol level drops
At visit 2, participants will:
- Answer questions and do computer tests
- Have an alcoholic drink and a snack
- Have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan. They will lie in a machine that takes
pictures of the brain. They will do computer tasks.
- Have another drink and snack
- Relax until their alcohol level drops
Participants will have a follow-up call after each visit.
Phase:
Phase 1
Details
Lead Sponsor:
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)