Wednesday, February 18, 2026 2/18/2026

Translational underpinnings of motivation for alcohol in humans

Award Number: R01AA029701
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/17/2023
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2027

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Translational underpinnings of motivation for alcohol in humans - ABSTRACT Despite significant advances in the understanding of the neurobiology of alcohol use disorder (AUD), there is a gap in the translation of these insights into clinical applications. Translational research in AUD is facilitated by the use of experimental manipulations and theoretical constructs that can be studied across species. Towards advancing translational research in AUD, the PI completed an Exploratory/Developmental Project entitled: “Modeling alcohol reward and reinforcement in the human laboratory” (R21 AA022752). The objective was to develop and test a translational task of motivation for alcohol in humans. To do so, we combined alcohol challenge with progressive ratio self-administration methodologies. Alcohol was administered intravenously using the Computer-Assisted Self-Infusion of Ethanol (CASE) system. At BrAC = 0.06 g/dl, participants completed a progressive ratio self-administration task in which they were allowed to work to be infused more alcohol following a progressive ratio schedule. The alcohol self-administration task captures motivation for alcohol and mirrors preclinical methodologies, ideal for testing of translational hypotheses. In addition to developments in the “outcome side” of the modeling approach, the “predictor side” comprised of AUD phenomenology has progressed towards clinical translation. The Addiction Neuroclinical Assessment (ANA) proposed to parse AUD phenomenology into three domains, namely incentive salience, negative emotionality, and executive dysfunction. Our research group has recently provided an independent replication of the ANA framework in a sample of 1,679 heavy drinkers. Together with the innovation in outcome assessment (i.e., progressive ratio self-administration in humans), the ANA framework can inform staging of AUD progression and as such, motivation for alcohol in humans provides an ideal behavioral science outcome. The proposed R01 application builds upon the extensive work from our laboratory on the development of a translational task for drinking motivation in humans. It does so by testing the three dimensions of the ANA for their effects on alcohol motivation in individuals with AUD.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $416,531 )
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90024	LOS ANGELES	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	001	3	8/18/2025	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$156,831
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90024	LOS ANGELES	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	003	3	8/29/2025	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	-$156,831
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90024	LOS ANGELES	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	002	3	8/29/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$156,831
2025	2025	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90024	LOS ANGELES	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	3	8/12/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$573,362
														Subtotal = $416,531

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $637,076 )
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90024	LOS ANGELES	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	001	2	7/31/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$416,531
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90024	LOS ANGELES	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	002	2	8/2/2024	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$156,831
2024	2024	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90024	LOS ANGELES	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	1	4/6/2024	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$63,714
														Subtotal = $637,076

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $419,337 )
2023	2023	UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES	10889 WILSHIRE BLVD STE 700	LOS ANGELES	CA	90024	LOS ANGELES	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	1	8/17/2023	NEW	$419,337
														Subtotal = $419,337

Grand Total All Awards = $1,472,944

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Translational underpinnings of motivation for alcohol in humans

Award Number: R01AA029701

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/17/2023

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 07/31/2027

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