Motivation for IV Alcohol Self-Administration in Humans

Translational Underpinnings of Motivation for Alcohol in Humans

The goal of this translational study is to understand different reasons why people between the ages of 21 and 65 with alcohol use disorder are motivated to self-administer alcohol. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• How does a person's desire for a reward affect their motivation to self-administer alcohol?
• How does a person's emotions affect their motivation to self-administer alcohol?
• How does a person's cognitive functioning affect their motivation to self-administer alcohol?

Participants will be asked to complete questionnaires about their mood, habits, and functioning and will complete an IV alcohol administration that will include pressing a button to receive additional doses of IV alcohol.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Alcohol Use Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: Intravenous Alcohol

Detailed Description

This study combines alcohol challenge and progressive ratio self-administration methodologies to test the effects of each of the three dimensions of the Addictions Neuroclinical Assessment (ANA) on motivation for alcohol use. The experimental design consists of a translational study in which 210 individuals with current AUD (mild-to-severe) will complete an intravenous (IV) alcohol administration followed by a progressive ratio self-administration paradigm, where participants must press a button a number of times to receive an infusion of alcohol. All participants will be phenotyped for the three dimensions of the ANA, including incentive salience, negative emotionality, and executive dysfunction. For these models, the primary outcome in the progressive ratio self-administration paradigm will be: (a) breakpoint (i.e., the point in the progressive ratio model at which the participant stops button presses for alcohol) and (b) peak BrAC (i.e., the highest level of BrAC reached in the trial). At baseline and after the target BrAC of 0.06 g/dl in the alcohol challenge component of the paradigm, participants will report on (a) alcohol craving, (b) negative mood, and (c) loss of control over drinking. All participants will provide blood samples at baseline and at target BrAC =0.06 g/dl for analyses of the proposed exploratory biomarkers of HPA axis activation (ACTH, cortisol) and inflammation (IL-6, IL-10, TNF-α, CRP). The successful completion of this project will advance translational science of AUD by testing the ANA framework within a conceptually rich and valid translational task of motivation for alcohol in humans. Advanced data analytic methods (i.e., machine learning) and careful attention to AUD severity as a marker to AUD stage, will result in clinically useful findings that can inform AUD assessment, treatment, and biomarker development.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 210
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Jessica Jenkins, MS; Phone Number: 310-206-6756; Email: jenkinsj@ucla.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Erica Grodin, PhD; Phone Number: 310-206-6756; Email: egrodin@psych.ucla.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • California
    • Los Angeles, California, United States, 90095
      • Recruiting
      • University of California, Los Angeles
      • Contact: Jessica Jenkins, MS; Phone Number: 310-206-6756; Email: jenkinsj@ucla.edu
      • Principal Investigator: Lara Ray, PhD
      • Contact: Erica Grodin, PhD; Phone Number: 3102066756; Email: egrodin@psych.ucla.edu
      • Principal Investigator: Erica Grodin, PhD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

To be included in the study, participants must:

1. Be between the ages of 21 and 65
2. Have self-reported alcohol use in the past 30 days
3. Meet current (i.e., past 12 months) DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder mild-to-severe

Exclusion Criteria:

To be included in the study, participants must not:

1. Currently be treatment seeking, in treatment for alcohol use, or have a history of treatment in the 30 days prior to consent
2. Have current (last 12 months) DSM-5 diagnosis of substance use disorder for any psychoactive substances other than alcohol and nicotine
3. Have a lifetime DSM-5 diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or any other psychotic disorder
4. Have current suicidal ideation or lifetime history of suicide attempt as reported on the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS)
5. Have a positive urine screen for drugs other than cannabis

6. Be pregnant, nursing, or planning to become pregnant while taking part in the study; and must agree to one of the following methods of birth control (if female), unless she or partner are surgically sterile:

   • Oral contraceptives
   • Contraceptive sponge
   • Patch
   • Double barrier
   • Intrauterine contraceptive device
   • Etonogestrel implant
   • Medroxyprogesterone acetate contraceptive injection
   • Hormonal vaginal contraceptive ring
   • Complete abstinence from sexual intercourse
7. Have clinically significant abnormalities identified in the physical exam that may interfere with safe study participation (e.g. unstable cardiac, renal, or liver disease; diabetes; uncontrolled hypertension; or HIV)
8. Exceed Grade 2 laboratory abnormalities, based on FDA Guidance Document "Toxicity Grading Scale for Healthy Adult and Adolescent Volunteers Enrolled in Preventive Vaccine Clinical Trials"
9. Currently use any medications known to interact with alcohol, including: antidepressants, anticonvulsants, opioids, benzodiazepines, medications for diabetes, and medications that affect alcohol metabolism
10. Have an intense fear of needles or have had adverse reactions to needle puncture
11. Have any other circumstances that, in the opinion of the investigators, would not be a good fit for study participation

Exclusion Criteria for Experimental Visit

To participate in the IV alcohol administration, participants must not:

1. Have a BrAC > 0.000 g/dl
2. Have clinically significant alcohol withdrawal symptoms as indicated by a score ≥ 10 on the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol-Revised (CIWA-R)
3. Exceed Grade 2 clinical vital sign abnormalities, based on FDA Guidance Document "Toxicity Grading Scale for Healthy Adult and Adolescent Volunteers Enrolled in Preventive Vaccine Clinical Trials"

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Other
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Intravenous Alcohol; Participants will receive 6% ethanol v/v in saline administered intravenously through the physiologically based pharmacokinetic model implemented in the Computerized Alcohol Infusion System.

Drug: Intravenous Alcohol; Participants will receive intravenous alcohol (6% ethanol v/v in saline; obtained from the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center Investigational Drug Service) over the course of an alcohol challenge. During the challenge, participants will be administered alcohol designed to reach target BrACs of 20, 40, and 60 mg%, each over 15 min. After reaching the last target BrAC (0.06 g/dl) participants will complete a self-administration (SA) paradigm. Participants will be invited to work (button press) for alcohol according to a log-linear progressive ratio schedule.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Incentive Salience, Craving, and Self-Administration	Scores on the incentive salience factor of the ANA will correlate with craving during the challenge and self-administration during the progressive ratio.	10 hours
Negative Emotionality, Negative Mood, and Self-Administration	Scores on the negative emotionality factor of the ANA will correlate with relief from negative mood during the challenge and self-administration during the progressive ratio.	10 hours
Executive Dysfunction, Loss of Control, and Self-Administration	Scores on the executive dysfunction factor of the ANA will correlate with loss of control during the challenge and self-administration during the progressive ratio.	10 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of California, Los Angeles
• Collaborators: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 16, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 2, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 2, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): July 10, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 1, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 27, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Alcohol-Related Disorders; Alcoholism; Organic Chemicals; Alcohols; Ethanol
• Other Study ID Numbers: #23-000434; 1R01AA029701-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Deidentified data will be uploaded to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Data Archive.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: Yes
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No