How the brain's stress responses relate to heavy drinking
Official title: Tracking brain dynamics of the acute stress response and neurocognitive mechanisms of chronic alcohol consumption
Funded at Yale University · NIH-11168699 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will measure how changing brain activity during stress relates to drinking habits in adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Yale University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New Haven, United States) |
| Project start | September 1, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $711,808 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AA031072-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11168699 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults aged 21 and older, particularly those who drink regularly or show risky drinking patterns, are the most likely candidates for participation.
✕Less likely to help
People under 21 or those who do not drink alcohol are unlikely to directly benefit from the study findings.
What this research studies
You would be part of research that uses existing brain scans and new MRI scans from adults to find whole‑brain patterns linked to stress. The team will apply machine learning to build brain 'markers' that change moment-to-moment during a stress task. They will compare these dynamic brain signals to people’s drinking behavior and to cognitive processes that support risky drinking. The work combines a large re-analysis of prior data (about 390 people) with new MRI data collected from roughly 100 adults at Yale.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could reveal brain-based markers to identify people at higher risk for harmful drinking and guide stress-targeted prevention or treatment approaches.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has linked stress responses to drinking and early whole-brain dynamic studies show promise, but using machine learning to predict individual drinking risk is still relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Yale University
New Haven, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Goldfarb, Elizabeth — Yale University
- Study coordinator: Goldfarb, Elizabeth
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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.