Wednesday, December 17, 2025 12/17/2025

Role of nucleus accumbens core in ethanol reward and binge-like drinking: Focus on sex as a biological variable

Award Number: F31AA030908
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 05/09/2023
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/27/2025

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Role of nucleus accumbens core in ethanol reward and binge-like drinking: Focus on sex as a biological variable - Project Summary Binge alcohol drinking is a risk factor for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), and while alcohol use and AUD diagnoses are more prevalent in men than women, this gap has drastically narrowed. Promising therapeutic candidates for the treatment of AUD have been identified using rodent models; however, few studies have addressed sex as a biological variable (SABV). Increasing our understanding of SABV in the neural circuitry that underlies binge-like drinking could lead to more tailored interventions. The nucleus accumbens core (NAcc) has diverse afferent connections that underlie its crucial involvement in all stages of AUD. In treatment resistant male patients with AUD, NAcc deep-brain stimulation reduced alcohol craving and promoted either lower alcohol intake or total abstinence, underscoring the relevance of this brain region in translational AUD research. In rodents, ethanol (EtOH) drinking increases c-Fos (a biomarker for neuronal activity) in the NAc, and manipulations of the NAc (via lesion, DBS, or chemogenetics) changes EtOH drinking. Lesioning the NAcc in male DBA/2J mice prevents acquisition of EtOH conditioned place preference (CPP), a measure of sensitivity to the rewarding effects of EtOH. Since there are some known sex-differences in the rodent NAcc, both basally and in response to EtOH, it is imperative to address SABV in studies testing the importance of the NAcc in EtOH reward and AUD. There are apparent sex differences in EtOH Drinking-in-the-Dark (DID) intake following chemogenetic manipulation of the NAcc, where inhibition reduces intake in C57BL/6J (B6) males but increases intake in females. Conversely, stimulation of the NAcc reduces DID EtOH intake in females, with no effect seen in males. These findings suggest that NAcc manipulation may alter sensitivity to the rewarding effects of EtOH in a sex-dependent manner, and if so, this could underlie chemogenetically-induced changes in drinking. Overall, this proposal addresses the importance of the NAcc and SABV in B6 mice during 2 facets of binge/intoxication – 1) how changing NAcc activity impacts the positive subjective effects of an intoxicating dose of EtOH and 2) determining the NAcc circuitry engaged during binge-like drinking. Aim 1 tests whether chemogenetic manipulation of the NAcc alters the conditioned rewarding effects of EtOH using an EtOH conditioned place preference (CPP) task. Aim 2 uses whole-brain imaging to identify regions engaged during DID (through analysis of c-Fos expression), in combination with use of a viral retrograde tracer administered into the NAcc. This will allow for quantification of co-labeled c-Fos and GFP-expressing NAcc inputs to determine which NAcc circuits are engaged during this behavior. Inclusion of both sexes allows us to determine whether there are differences in c-fos induction, and whether projections to the NAcc are differentially engaged during DID. The proposed studies will critically improve our understanding of 1) how NAcc activity may sex-specifically impact the rewarding effects of EtOH, and 2) whole brain and NAcc specific circuits engaged by binge-like EtOH drinking in males and females.


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: 2026 ( Subtotal = -$27,321 )
2026	2025	OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY	3181 SW SAM JACKSON PARK RD	PORTLAND	OR	97239	MULTNOMAH	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	3	12/10/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$27,321
														Subtotal = -$27,321

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $49,538 )
2025	2025	OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY	3181 SW SAM JACKSON PARK RD	PORTLAND	OR	97239	MULTNOMAH	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	001	3	7/10/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$564
2025	2025	OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY	3181 SW SAM JACKSON PARK RD	PORTLAND	OR	97239	MULTNOMAH	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	3	5/15/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$48,974
														Subtotal = $49,538

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $48,974 )
2024	2024	OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY	3181 SW SAM JACKSON PARK RD	PORTLAND	OR	97239	MULTNOMAH	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	2	4/30/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$48,974
														Subtotal = $48,974

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $47,694 )
2023	2023	OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY	3181 SW SAM JACKSON PARK RD	PORTLAND	OR	97239	MULTNOMAH	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	001	1	4/28/2023	NEW	$0
2023	2023	OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY	3181 SW SAM JACKSON PARK RD	PORTLAND	OR	97239	MULTNOMAH	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	1	4/28/2023	NEW	$47,694
														Subtotal = $47,694

Grand Total All Awards = $118,885

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Role of nucleus accumbens core in ethanol reward and binge-like drinking: Focus on sex as a biological variable

Award Number: F31AA030908

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 05/09/2023

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 06/27/2025

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer