How stress and heavy drinking change brain circuits and metabolism
Project 7/8: INIA Stress and Chronic Alcohol Interactions: Cross-species studies of metabolic allostasis and altered striatal circuitry
Researchers compare brain chemistry and nerve-cell activity in animals exposed to long-term heavy drinking and stress to learn why drinking becomes habitual and hard to control.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Oregon Health & Science University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Portland, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11261082 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you or someone you know struggles with heavy drinking, this project looks at how repeated alcohol use and stress change the brain circuits that control habits. Scientists will use noninvasive brain scans (magnetic resonance spectroscopy) to measure brain chemicals like glutamate and GABA over time and will also record electrical activity from brain tissue to see how excitatory and inhibitory signals change. They will use targeted tools to turn specific neurons on or off and compare the scan results to direct electrical recordings across mice and nonhuman primates. The team hopes to link scan-friendly signals to the circuit changes that drive habitual, compulsive drinking.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People who drink heavily or have alcohol use disorder, especially those whose drinking worsens with stress, would be the most relevant candidates for future related trials or interventions.
Not a fit: People without a history of heavy drinking or whose substance use is driven mainly by factors other than stress may not receive direct benefit from these findings.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could identify brain-scan markers that predict or monitor habit-forming drinking and help guide treatments to restore circuit balance and reduce compulsive alcohol use.
How similar studies have performed: Previous animal and slice electrophysiology studies have shown shifts in excitatory/inhibitory balance with habitual drinking, but using MRS scans to reflect those circuit changes across species remains novel and not yet validated.
Where this research is happening
Portland, United States
- Oregon Health & Science University — Portland, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kroenke, Christopher D — Oregon Health & Science University
- Study coordinator: Kroenke, Christopher D
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 below.