Prenatal alcohol exposure may raise risk for postnatal addiction
Official title: Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Increases the Risk of Postnatal Addiction
Funded at Indiana University Indianapolis · NIH-11449913 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This grant looks at how drinking during pregnancy could make someone more likely to develop addiction later and what brain signals drive that risk, with a focus on the brain’s reward system.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Indiana University Indianapolis NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Indianapolis, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2026 |
| Project end | May 31, 2031 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $708,519 |
| NIH project number | 1R01AA032539-01A1 |
| Project ID | NIH-11449913 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are people or animals with known prenatal alcohol exposure and a risk profile for neuropsychiatric or substance use disorders.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals without any history of prenatal alcohol exposure or related neuropsychiatric risk factors may be less directly benefited by this research.
What this research studies
Researchers will explore how prenatal alcohol exposure changes brain circuits involved in reward and craving, especially in the medial prefrontal cortex and its connections to the nucleus accumbens. They study synaptic activity and neuron excitability in animal models to identify mechanisms that increase alcohol and drug-taking behaviors after early exposure. The work aims to find points where interventions could reduce the likelihood of substance use disorders in individuals affected by prenatal alcohol exposure. If successful, the findings could guide new strategies to prevent or lessen addiction risk in affected populations.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Better understanding of how prenatal exposure increases addiction risk could lead to targeted prevention and treatment approaches for affected individuals.
How similar studies have gone: Preclinical studies suggest that early brain changes from prenatal alcohol exposure influence later addiction-like behaviors, with potential for translation to human therapies.
Where this research is happening
-
Indiana University Indianapolis
Indianapolis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ma, Yao-Ying — Indiana University Indianapolis
- Study coordinator: Ma, Yao-Ying
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Reducing Addiction Risk in High Schools Through Better Prevention Infrastructure
Aims to build a sustainable, school-based system to prevent opioid and other drug use among high school students, especially those at higher risk.
-
HEAL Data Platform to share addiction-related data across programs
A platform project to make HEAL data from many programs easier to find and use, helping researchers and clinicians access information about addiction in children and youth.
-
Cognitively-enhanced tDCS to reduce cocaine craving
A study to test whether real brain stimulation together with learning strategies can lessen craving in people with cocaine use disorder.
-
Yale center researching how tobacco products affect use and addiction in people
A Yale research center is studying how nicotine, flavor additives, and other ingredients in tobacco products influence people’s likelihood of starting and becoming addicted.
-
Atherosclerosis in cocaine addiction: imaging risk with PET/MR
This project uses PET/MR imaging to look for early artery disease in people with cocaine use disorder to help prevent strokes or other brain injuries.
-
Integrating long-acting PrEP into street medicine for people who use drugs
This project tests whether a long-acting HIV prevention shot (lenacapavir) can be feasibly and acceptably offered by street-based health teams to people who use drugs.
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.