How teen binge drinking can change brain activity, sex hormones, and metabolism
Official title: Adolescent alcohol exposure: impact on neuronal activation, steroids, and metabolomic profiles
Funded at North Carolina Agri & Tech St Univ · NIH-11177788 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Looking at whether binge drinking during the teen years leads to lasting changes in brain cell activity, sex hormones, and metabolic signals in males and females.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | North Carolina Agri & Tech St Univ NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Greensboro, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2023 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $141,912 |
| NIH project number | 5R16GM149485-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11177788 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People who began binge drinking during adolescence or adults reporting heavy alcohol use that started in their teen years would be most relevant to these findings.
✕Less likely to help
Those whose alcohol problems began in adulthood or people seeking immediate clinical treatment may not directly benefit from this preclinical work.
What this research studies
This lab project uses an adolescent intermittent alcohol exposure model in male and female mice to mimic teen binge drinking and withdrawal. Researchers will measure neuronal activation and steroid hormone receptors in key brain regions involved in reward and decision-making, with attention to timing after withdrawal and after re-exposure. They will also profile metabolomic changes to identify biochemical signatures linked to early alcohol exposure. Although done in animals, the work aims to uncover sex-specific mechanisms that could explain why early drinking raises later risk for alcohol problems in people.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could clarify biological reasons why early binge drinking increases later risk for alcohol use disorder and point to hormone- or metabolism-related ways to prevent or treat it.
How similar studies have gone: Prior animal studies, including work by this team, have shown sex-specific brain and behavioral changes after adolescent binge alcohol exposure, but linking steroid receptors with metabolomic shifts is a newer direction.
Where this research is happening
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North Carolina Agri & Tech St Univ
Greensboro, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Maldonado-Devincci, Antoinette Michelle — North Carolina Agri & Tech St Univ
- Study coordinator: Maldonado-Devincci, Antoinette Michelle
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.