Title:

Individual Behavioral and Neurobiological Markers Associated with Vulnerable to Alcohol Use Phenotype

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is a chronic and relapsing brain disease. It is characterized by the excessive consumption of alcohol, using alcohol in the face of negative consequences, and the experience of withdrawal symptoms. In 2019, it was reported that 14.1 million Americans over the age of 18 had been diagnosed with AUD. With excessive alcohol use causing 140,000 deaths a year in the U.S., treatment of AUD is an important social issue. While there are treatments available, such as mutual help groups, cognitive behavioral therapy, and medication, there are still challenges posed by the chronic relapsing characteristic of the disease. Further research still needs to be done into the behavioral aspect of alcohol consumption and the neural activity that is involved in a relapse event. In this study, we will be using a preclinical rodent model to attempt to establish a vulnerable ethanol phenotype. We will use behavioral economics to determine which rats have high demand for ethanol, and which have low demand for ethanol. We hypothesize that rats with high demand for ethanol will show persistence in the face of negative consequences and will have a distinct neural profile during relapse compared to rats with low demand.

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