Perceived Alcohol Rewards and Risks Study

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Heavy Drinking
• Interventions: Behavioral: Brief Alcohol Intervention; Behavioral: Control Condition

• Registration Number: NCT04710095
• Lead Sponsor: University of California, Los Angeles

Brief Summary

The identification of mechanisms that underlie how people reduce or eliminate alcohol use is a critical public health issue. Understanding these mechanisms can inform how to effectively intervene with problem drinkers. Thus far it has been a challenge for the alcohol research field to find consistent empirical evidence in support of candidate mechanisms of behavior change. Scientific advancement in this area may be aided by longitudinal transdisciplinary research on the interplay between behavioral intervention, cognition, and brain activity to understand underlying processes of behavior change among heavy drinkers. This study employed a randomized 2-arm repeated measures design with a sample of non-treatment seeking adult heavy drinkers to examine changes in perceived reward value and risks of alcohol use as a mechanism of alcohol behavior change after a brief behavioral intervention. Participants were randomized to either a 1-session behavioral intervention or to an attention-matched control condition and immediately after completed an fMRI scan. The focus of this project is to examine if group differences in perceived alcohol reward value after the intervention mediates an intervention effect on reducing alcohol use in the 1 month following the intervention.

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2015-11-13
• Primary Completion: 2017-04-05
• Study Completion: 2017-04-05
• Status Verified: 2021-01
• Study First Submitted: 2021-01-12
• Study First Submitted QC: 2021-01-12
• Study First Posted: 2021-01-14
• Last Update Submitted: 2021-01-20
• Last Update Posted: 2021-01-25

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 60

Inclusion Criteria

1. engaged in regular heavy drinking, as indicated by consuming 5 or more drinks per occasion for men or 4 or more drinks per occasion for women at least 4 times in the month prior to enrollment
2. a score of ≥ 8 on the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT)

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Exclusion Criteria

1. under the age of 21
2. currently receiving treatment for alcohol problems, history of treatment in the 30 days before enrollment, or currently seeking treatment
3. a positive urine toxicology screen for any drug other than cannabis
4. a lifetime history of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or other psychotic disorder
5. serious alcohol withdrawal symptoms
6. history of epilepsy, seizures, or severe head trauma
7. non-removable ferromagnetic objects in body
8. claustrophobia
9. pregnancy

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Brief Alcohol Intervention	Brief Alcohol Intervention	A brief intervention consisting of a 30-45 minute individual face-to-face session based on the principles of motivational interviewing.
Attention-Matched Control Condition	Control Condition	Brief attention-matched control condition.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Percent Heavy Drinking Days	4 weeks post intervention	Percent heavy drinking days defined as 5+ drinks for men and 4+ for women according to self-reported Timeline Follow Back (TLFB) data
Neural Alcohol Cue Reactivity	Single time point immediately post intervention	Neural alcohol cue reactivity as measured by whole brain activation to alcohol taste cue vs. water taste cue using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)