How stress can drive heavy drinking and relapse
6/8: INIA Stress and Chronic Alcohol Interactions: Stress and Ethanol Self Administration in Monkeys
This work looks at how stress changes brain circuits to make heavy drinking and relapse more likely, with implications for people with alcohol use disorder.
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-11306556 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers use a rhesus monkey model that mimics long-term heavy drinking and repeated relapse to study how stress affects the brain. They track drinking behavior, flexibility in decision-making, and stress hormone responses over time while imaging brain circuits with resting-state fMRI. The team will use targeted chemogenetic tools (DREADDs) in the primate brain to turn specific cortico-striatal circuits up or down and observe effects on alcohol intake, stress responses, and behavioral flexibility. Findings aim to link circuit changes to who becomes vulnerable to excessive drinking and relapse.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: The research is most relevant to adults with alcohol use disorder, especially those with histories of heavy drinking and repeated relapses, who might be candidates for future clinical trials based on these findings.
Not a fit: People without problematic alcohol use or whose primary issues are unrelated psychiatric or medical conditions are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could point to specific brain circuits or targets for new treatments to reduce relapse and help people with alcohol use disorder.
How similar studies have performed: Past animal and human studies link stress and striatal changes to relapse, but using chemogenetic manipulation in nonhuman primates to change drinking behavior is a newer and less-tested approach.
Where this research is happening
Portland, United States
- Oregon Health & Science University — Portland, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Grant, Kathleen a — Oregon Health & Science University
- Study coordinator: Grant, Kathleen a
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.