| Abstract |
The goal of the current project is to collect pilot data on a new program of alcohol research concerning the
brain mechanisms of biphasic responses to alcohol, in HIV+ patients with high alcohol intake, who may be at
an elevated risk for increased brain effects compared to HIV- individuals and HIV+ individuals without high
alcohol use. Alcohol has acute stimulant and sedative effects which vary over time. Differences in individual
responses to stimulant, positively reinforcing effects of alcohol and to sedative, punishing effects of alcohol
have each been proposed to contribute to adverse alcohol outcomes. The study collects pilot data on the
impact of alcohol and HIV on brain responses to an acute dose of alcohol over time using a three-session,
within-subjects, placebo-controlled alcohol administration design, with 30-minute fMRI scans conducted
during both the ascending and descending limbs of the alcohol response curve for each participant.
Participants will be prospectively selected from three groups -- HIV+ individuals with high alcohol use, HIV+
individuals with low alcohol use, and HIV- controls with low alcohol use, in order to collect pilot data on 3
cells of a full factorial design regarding the synergistic impact of HIV and chronic alcohol use on acute brain
responses to alcohol. Alcohol-induced fMRI blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD) responses will be
assessed during viewing of positively, negatively, and neutrally valenced pictures from the International
Affective Picture Set (IAPS), in order to provide pilot information about neural foundations of biphasic alcohol
impact on affective processing in individuals who differ in HIV status and chronic alcohol exposure. This pilot
project will provide proof-of-concept data for the submission of an R01 on the impact of HIV and chronic
alcohol on acute alcohol brain effects. The project is relevant to public health because it will provide a
foundation for understanding the neural pathways through which HIV and chronic alcohol use may jointly
affect functional brain responses to alcohol, using a moderate dose of alcohol (0.6) routinely consumed by
HIV+ heavy drinkers in the real-world.
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