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Impaired dynamic neurobiological responses in alcoholism and early trauma to predict relapse after treatment

Award Number: R01AA026844
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

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Impaired dynamic neurobiological responses in alcoholism and early trauma to predict relapse after treatment - Project Summary/Abstract Early trauma (ET) is a significant obstacle to alcohol recovery. Patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) who experienced early trauma are at a higher risk of frequent and early relapse and suffer from severe clinical symptoms including emotion and stress-related difficulties. However, neural mechanisms linking alcoholism, early trauma and high relapse risk remain unclear. Two biological systems, stress-related brain circuits and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis system, are implicated in the pathologies of both AUD and ET. Concurrent examination of these two systems using multimodal neuroimaging techniques (e.g., simultaneous brain and stress hormone monitoring) may clarify the relationship between AUD and ET. Using this novel approach, our prior study showed that a lack of dynamic increase in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VmPFC) during stress was a critical predictor of ineffective coping, disrupted HPA axis response to stress, and increased alcohol consumption. Preliminary results also indicated that impaired dynamic VmPFC recovery during stress was associated with comorbid AUD/ET and early relapse. This pattern of findings leads us to hypothesize that impaired dynamic VmPFC response to stress may be a novel marker of comorbid alcoholism and early trauma, which underlies high relapse risk. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) combined with a prospective clinical outcome design, the proposed study aims to utilize brain-HPA axis markers of co-occurring alcoholism and early trauma and to examine whether these markers contribute to early relapse after treatment. We propose a 5-year study with four demographically-matched groups (total N=160; N=40 each; equal sex ratio); these groups will include AUD patients with and without ET and moderate drinkers with and without ET. Participants will complete an fMRI session while viewing a series of stress, alcohol, and neutral cues. After the multimodal scan, AUD patients will be engaged in eight weeks of standard, empirically-validated outpatient treatment and then prospectively followed for 90 days. To accurately capture relapse rate, we will conduct face-to-face follow-up interviews at 14, 30, and 90 days after treatment in conjunction with daily monitoring of stress and alcohol related behaviors using a smartphone app. Successful completion of the proposed aims has the potential to identify the neural mechanisms underlying comorbid alcoholism and early trauma and associated relapse risk, which may be further explored to develop new treatment targets and to improve clinical outcomes in AUD patients with early trauma.


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 = -$3 )
2025	2023	YALE UNIV	150 MUNSON ST	NEW HAVEN	CT	06511	SOUTH CENTRAL CT	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	5	4/24/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$3
														Subtotal = -$3

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $620,658 )
2023	2023	YALE UNIVERSITY	105 WALL ST	NEW HAVEN	CT	06511	SOUTH CENTRAL CT	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	5	1/20/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$620,658
														Subtotal = $620,658

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $651,027 )
2022	2022	YALE UNIVERSITY	105 WALL ST	NEW HAVEN	CT	06511	SOUTH CENTRAL CT	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	001	4	6/22/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$65,103
2022	2022	YALE UNIVERSITY	105 WALL ST	NEW HAVEN	CT	06511	SOUTH CENTRAL CT	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	4	2/4/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$585,924
														Subtotal = $651,027

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $805,806 )
2021	2021	YALE UNIVERSITY	105 WALL ST	NEW HAVEN	CT	06511	SOUTH CENTRAL CT	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	001	3	1/22/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$638,306
2021	2021	YALE UNIVERSITY	105 WALL ST	NEW HAVEN	CT	06511	SOUTH CENTRAL CT	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	002	3	3/12/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
2021	2021	YALE UNIVERSITY	105 WALL ST	NEW HAVEN	CT	06511	SOUTH CENTRAL CT	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	2	11/23/2020	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$41,875
2021	2021	YALE UNIVERSITY	105 WALL ST	NEW HAVEN	CT	06511	SOUTH CENTRAL CT	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	003	3	3/12/2021	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$125,625
														Subtotal = $805,806

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $635,116 )
2020	2020	YALE UNIVERSITY	105 WALL ST	NEW HAVEN	CT	06511	SOUTH CENTRAL CT	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	2	2/10/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$635,116
														Subtotal = $635,116

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $495,751 )
2019	2019	YALE UNIVERSITY	105 WALL ST	NEW HAVEN	CT	06511	SOUTH CENTRAL CT	USA	Alcohol Research Programs	000	1	5/1/2019	NEW	$495,751
														Subtotal = $495,751

Grand Total All Awards = $3,208,355

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Impaired dynamic neurobiological responses in alcoholism and early trauma to predict relapse after treatment

Award Number: R01AA026844

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON ALCOHOL ABUSE AND ALCOHOLISM

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

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

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