Lab method to see if medicines help people resist drinking and avoid heavy drinking

Developing a novel human laboratory paradigm for AUD medication screening: Modeling the ability to resist drinking and heavy drinking

['FUNDING_OTHER'] · YALE UNIVERSITY · NIH-11168801

This project tries out lab tasks to see whether medicines can help adults with alcohol use disorder resist urges to drink and avoid heavy drinking.

Quick facts

Phase['FUNDING_OTHER']
Study typeNih_funding
SexAll
SponsorYALE UNIVERSITY (nih funded)
Locations1 site (NEW HAVEN, UNITED STATES)
Trial IDNIH-11168801 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this research studies

You would come to a Yale lab to take part in controlled drinking sessions that mimic real-world urges and choices about alcohol. The team is adapting an 'ability to resist' task they developed for smoking to measure whether a pill helps you delay or skip drinking. They will create two versions of the task that match meaningful clinical outcomes like staying abstinent or having no heavy-drinking days. Over the two-year project they will refine these lab tests so they can be used to screen new medications more quickly.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Adults with alcohol use disorder or those who regularly have heavy drinking episodes and who can attend in-person lab visits would be ideal candidates.

Not a fit: People without problematic drinking, pregnant people, or those with certain serious medical conditions or who cannot come to New Haven may not benefit from participating.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this could speed up finding medicines that reduce drinking and help more people get effective treatments sooner.

How similar studies have performed: Related 'ability to resist' lab models for smoking have predicted medication effects, but applying this approach to alcohol is new.

Where this research is happening

NEW HAVEN, UNITED STATES

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.

View on NIH RePORTER →

Last reviewed 2026-05-15 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.