What drives people to drink alcohol
Official title: Translational underpinnings of motivation for alcohol in humans
Funded at University of California Los Angeles · NIH-11158859 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses lab sessions where adults who drink heavily or have alcohol use disorder work to earn controlled alcohol infusions so researchers can learn what motivates drinking.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California Los Angeles NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, United States) |
| Project start | August 17, 2023 |
| Project end | July 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $416,531 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AA029701-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11158859 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults who drink heavily or meet criteria for alcohol use disorder, are medically stable, and can safely undergo controlled alcohol exposure in a lab.
✕Less likely to help
People who drink lightly, minors, pregnant or breastfeeding individuals, or those with unstable medical or psychiatric conditions would likely not be eligible and are unlikely to benefit from participating.
What this research studies
You would come to the UCLA lab and receive controlled alcohol delivered through an IV using the CASE system, then complete a progressive-ratio task where you work to earn more alcohol. The task mirrors animal tests of motivation so researchers can compare human behavior to preclinical models and biological measures. The team links how much work people do for alcohol to clinical features of alcohol use disorder using the Addiction Neuroclinical Assessment and other assessments. The goal is to create lab measures that translate across species and help guide better treatments.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could produce lab-based measures that help match treatments to the people most likely to benefit and speed development of new interventions for alcohol use disorder.
How similar studies have gone: Human alcohol self-administration and CASE infusion methods have been used before and the team's earlier R21 showed feasibility, though applying a progressive-ratio work task to model motivation is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of California Los Angeles
Los Angeles, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Ray, Lara a. — University of California Los Angeles
- Study coordinator: Ray, Lara a.
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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.