Characterizing the Effects of Family History of Alcoholism on Alcohol Analgesia

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Effects of Family History of Alcoholism and Sex on Alcohol Analgesia

Interventions: Drug: Ethanol
Other: Placebo

Registration Number: NCT04925076

Lead Sponsor: University of Florida

Brief Summary: Self-medication of pain with alcohol is a common, yet risky, behavior. Evidence suggests family history of alcoholism may affect the degree to which alcohol use relieves pain, but the independent contributions of expectation and conditioning have not been previously studied. Interactive effects of sex and family history are also currently unclear. This project addresses this gap in knowledge and will inform further research and clinical/translational efforts for reducing risk associated with these behaviors.

Detailed Description: Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 125

Inclusion Criteria

Consume at least 1 drink/month over the past 6 months

Exclusion Criteria

History of chronic pain
Current use of opioids
Current major depression
History of any psychotic disorder
Undercontrolled hypertension or diabetes
History of neurologic disease
History of serious medical illness
History of drug or alcohol dependence, including nicotine, or a pattern of hazardous alcohol use
Safety concerns related to MRI (for example, implants or pacing devices)

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: CROSSOVER

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Family History Positive	Placebo	People reporting at least one parent with a history of alcohol problems.
Family History Negative	Placebo	People who do not report having a parent with a history of alcohol problems.
Family History Positive	Ethanol	People reporting at least one parent with a history of alcohol problems.
Family History Negative	Ethanol	People who do not report having a parent with a history of alcohol problems.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Heat Pain Threshold	Day 1; Day 2 (Laboratory sessions will be separated by at least 48 hours.)	Temperature of heat stimulus applied to the foot at which participant reports pain. VAS (visual analogue scale) pain intensity and unpleasantness ratings anchored from "no pain at all"/"not at all unpleasant" to "most intense/unpleasant imaginable" will be collected.
Heat Pain Tolerance	Day 1; Day 2 (Laboratory sessions will be separated by at least 48 hours.)	Temperature of heat stimulus applied to the foot at which participant no longer tolerates pain. VAS (visual analogue scale) pain intensity and unpleasantness ratings anchored from "no pain at all"/"not at all unpleasant" to "most intense/unpleasant imaginable" will be collected.
Heat Pain Intensity Ratings	Day 1; Day 2 (Laboratory sessions will be separated by at least 48 hours.)	Participant perception of pain at a temperature producing a pain rating of approximately 5 out of 10 at baseline. VAS (visual analogue scale) pain intensity ratings ranging from 0-100 and anchored from "no pain at all" to "most intense imaginable" will be collected. Higher values reflect ratings of more intense pain.
Perceived Pain Relief	Day 1; Day 2 (Laboratory sessions will be separated by at least 48 hours.)	Rating of relief from pain associated with consumption of the study beverage. This is a VAS (visual analogue scale) assessing perceived pain relief ranging from 0-100 and anchored from "No relief at all" to "Most profound relief imaginable". Higher scores reflect greater perception of pain relief.
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Activation	Day 1; Day 2 (Laboratory sessions will be separated by at least 48 hours.)	Pain-related activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex associated with application of painful heat vs. non-noxious warmth to the bottom of the right foot during fMRI acquisition. Scores are beta-weights associated with fit of activity within the region to activity predicted by convolving the canonical hemodynamic response function with the heat pain stimulus paradigm assessed using general linear modeling. Positive beta weights reflect activation associated with the stimulus paradigm, while negative beta weights reflect deactivation.
Hypothalamus Activation	Day 1; Day 2 (Laboratory sessions will be separated by at least 48 hours	Pain-related activation in the hypothalamus associated with application of painful heat vs. non-noxious warmth to the bottom of the right foot during fMRI acquisition. Scores are beta-weights associated with fit of activity within the region to activity predicted by convolving the canonical hemodynamic response function with the heat pain stimulus paradigm assessed using general linear modeling. Positive beta weights reflect activation associated with the stimulus paradigm, while negative beta weights reflect deactivation.
Medial Prefrontal Cortex Activation	Day 1; Day 2 (Laboratory sessions will be separated by at least 48 hours.)	Pain-related activation in the medial prefrontal cortex associated with application of painful heat vs. non-noxious warmth to the bottom of the right foot during fMRI acquisition. Scores are beta-weights associated with fit of activity within the region to activity predicted by convolving the canonical hemodynamic response function with the heat pain stimulus paradigm assessed using general linear modeling. Positive beta weights reflect activation associated with the stimulus paradigm, while negative beta weights reflect deactivation.
Nucleus Accumbens Activation	Day 1; Day 2 (Laboratory sessions will be separated by at least 48 hours.)	Pain-related activation in the nucleus accumbens associated with application of painful heat vs. non-noxious warmth to the bottom of the right foot during fMRI acquisition. Scores are beta-weights associated with fit of activity within the region to activity predicted by convolving the canonical hemodynamic response function with the heat pain stimulus paradigm assessed using general linear modeling. Positive beta weights reflect activation associated with the stimulus paradigm, while negative beta weights reflect deactivation.
Periaqueductal Gray Activation	Day 1; Day 2 (Laboratory sessions will be separated by at least 48 hours.)	Pain-related activation in the periaqueductal gray associated with application of painful heat vs. non-noxious warmth to the bottom of the right foot during fMRI acquisition. Scores are beta-weights associated with fit of activity within the region to activity predicted by convolving the canonical hemodynamic response function with the heat pain stimulus paradigm assessed using general linear modeling. Positive beta weights reflect activation associated with the stimulus paradigm, while negative beta weights reflect deactivation.
Anterior Cingulate Cortex Activation	Day 1; Day 2 (Laboratory sessions will be separated by at least 48 hours.)	Pain-related activation in the anterior cingulate cortex associated with application of painful heat vs. non-noxious warmth to the bottom of the right foot during fMRI acquisition. Scores are beta-weights associated with fit of activity within the region to activity predicted by convolving the canonical hemodynamic response function with the heat pain stimulus paradigm assessed using general linear modeling. Positive beta weights reflect activation associated with the stimulus paradigm, while negative beta weights reflect deactivation.
Amgydala Activation	Day 1; Day 2 (Laboratory sessions will be separated by at least 48 hours.)	Pain-related activation in the amygdala associated with application of painful heat vs. non-noxious warmth to the bottom of the right foot during fMRI acquisition. Scores are beta-weights associated with fit of activity within the region to activity predicted by convolving the canonical hemodynamic response function with the heat pain stimulus paradigm assessed using general linear modeling. Positive beta weights reflect activation associated with the stimulus paradigm, while negative beta weights reflect deactivation.
Hippocampus Activation	Day 1; Day 2 (Laboratory sessions will be separated by at least 48 hours.)	Pain-related activation in the hippocampus associated with application of painful heat vs. non-noxious warmth to the bottom of the right foot during fMRI acquisition. Scores are beta-weights associated with fit of activity within the region to activity predicted by convolving the canonical hemodynamic response function with the heat pain stimulus paradigm assessed using general linear modeling. Positive beta weights reflect activation associated with the stimulus paradigm, while negative beta weights reflect deactivation.
Insula Activation	Day 1; Day 2 (Laboratory sessions will be separated by at least 48 hours.)	Pain-related activation in the insula associated with application of painful heat vs. non-noxious warmth to the bottom of the right foot during fMRI acquisition. Scores are beta-weights associated with fit of activity within the region to activity predicted by convolving the canonical hemodynamic response function with the heat pain stimulus paradigm assessed using general linear modeling. Positive beta weights reflect activation associated with the stimulus paradigm, while negative beta weights reflect deactivation.
Postcentral Gyrus Activation	Day 1; Day 2 (Laboratory sessions will be separated by at least 48 hours.)	Pain-related activation in the postcentral gyrus associated with application of painful heat vs. non-noxious warmth to the bottom of the right foot during fMRI acquisition. Scores are beta-weights associated with fit of activity within the region to activity predicted by convolving the canonical hemodynamic response function with the heat pain stimulus paradigm assessed using general linear modeling. Positive beta weights reflect activation associated with the stimulus paradigm, while negative beta weights reflect deactivation.
Thalamus Activation	Day 1; Day 2 (Laboratory sessions will be separated by at least 48 hours.)	Pain-related activation in the thalamus associated with application of painful heat vs. non-noxious warmth to the bottom of the right foot during fMRI acquisition. Scores are beta-weights associated with fit of activity within the region to activity predicted by convolving the canonical hemodynamic response function with the heat pain stimulus paradigm assessed using general linear modeling. Positive beta weights reflect activation associated with the stimulus paradigm, while negative beta weights reflect deactivation.