Brain circuits that drive alcohol drinking and seeking
Official title: Circuit control of motivation to take and seek alcohol
Funded at Vanderbilt University · NIH-11332491 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This work looks at how specific brain cells and circuits make people with alcohol use disorder drink or seek alcohol, especially when stopping causes bad feelings.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Vanderbilt University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Nashville, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | July 10, 2023 |
| Project end | April 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $547,620 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AA030931-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11332491 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with alcohol use disorder who relapse or resume drinking mainly to avoid withdrawal-related negative mood or distress are the most relevant group.
✕Less likely to help
People whose drinking is mainly driven by seeking pleasure rather than avoiding withdrawal, or whose relapse is due to unrelated social factors, may not directly benefit from these findings.
What this research studies
If you struggle to stay sober because quitting makes you feel anxious, down, or otherwise unwell, this research uses animal models to trace how alcohol and related cues change activity in brain cells that control motivation. The team focuses on two main cell types in the nucleus accumbens to see which ones drive drinking to avoid negative feelings during abstinence. They record activity from those cells and selectively change their signaling to see how that affects alcohol-seeking after periods without alcohol. The aim is to find circuit targets that could guide new treatments to prevent relapse driven by withdrawal-related negative states.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could identify specific brain-cell targets for new medications or therapies that help prevent relapse when quitting causes negative feelings.
How similar studies have gone: Prior animal studies show nucleus accumbens cell types influence motivated behaviors, but applying this circuit-level approach specifically to alcohol withdrawal-driven relapse is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Calipari, Erin — Vanderbilt University
- Study coordinator: Calipari, Erin
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.