Center developing brain-based treatments for alcohol use and addiction
Official title: Center for the Translational Neuroscience of Alcoholism
Funded at Yale University · NIH-11127631 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project is trying a medication that targets the brain receptor mGluR5 to reduce heavy drinking and fix brain-circuit problems linked to alcoholism.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Yale University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New Haven, United States) |
| Project start | June 4, 2001 |
| Project end | May 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,737,573 |
| NIH project number | 5P50AA012870-25 |
| Project ID | NIH-11127631 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults who drink heavily or have alcohol use disorder and who meet safety criteria for taking experimental brain-active medication and undergoing brain imaging.
✕Less likely to help
Light drinkers, people not seeking treatment, pregnant individuals, or anyone unable to take experimental brain drugs or undergo scans are unlikely to benefit from participation.
What this research studies
You would hear about work that combines brain imaging, genetics, molecular neuroscience, and medication testing to find better treatments for heavy drinking. The center studies drugs that block mGluR5 in animals to see if they normalize glutamate signaling and reduce both goal-directed and habitual drinking. It also carries out studies in heavy-drinking people that use brain scans and medication to measure drinking and brain changes. The center funds pilot projects to bring new ideas forward and coordinates teams to move promising findings toward clinical use.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to a new kind of medication that reduces heavy drinking by correcting brain-circuit dysfunction.
How similar studies have gone: Similar approaches with mGluR5 blockers have shown promising results in animals, but human testing of this mechanism is still limited.
Where this research is happening
-
Yale University
New Haven, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Krystal, John H. — Yale University
- Study coordinator: Krystal, John H.
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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.