Mechanisms of Risky Alcohol Use in Young Adults: Linking Sleep to Reward- and Stress-Related Brain Function

Overview

This research will use biobehavioral approaches to generate understanding about the linkages between stressful life events, sleep duration and timing, and alcohol use in young adults, with a long-term aim of developing effective preventative interventions for alcohol use disorders.

High-risk drinking (consuming ≥ 4 drinks/day or ≥ 8/week for women, ≥ 5 drinks/day or ≥ 15/week for men) is reported by one in four young adults within the past month and predicts the development and progression of alcohol use disorder (AUD). High-risk drinking can also have terrible costs beyond developing AUD, including death and disability from unintended injuries and suicide attempts, physical and sexual assault, and a wide range of acute and chronic health problems. The high degree of morbidity and mortality associated with high- risk drinking in young adulthood makes this a key developmental period for AUD research and intervention. High-risk drinking in young adults is related to high exposure to stressors, insufficient sleep duration, and late sleep timing. Alarmingly, almost half of young adults report at least moderate exposure to stressors, only 30% regularly obtain the recommended hours of sleep, and sleep timing is at its latest around age 20. Stressors and short/late sleep may also cause disruptions in reward- and stress-related brain function (e.g., medial prefrontal cortex response to monetary reward, autonomic and neuroendocrine function during stressors), which are key biobehavioral mechanisms of AUD. Short and late sleep habits are a prime target for AUD prevention in young adults; however, there is insufficient causal evidence that improving sleep opportunity and/or timing will alter the biobehavioral mechanisms of AUD or decrease high-risk drinking, particularly in at-risk young adults. The overall objective of this R01 is to evaluate a biobehavioral model whereby sufficient sleep duration and/or early sleep timing can reduce high-risk drinking by promoting reward- and stress-related brain function in young adults with high lifetime stress load. The long-term goal of this research is to leverage sleep and circadian function to promote mental health. A series of studies by the PI and Co-I Hasler demonstrate that stressful life events, short sleep, and late sleep independently predict future reward- and stress-related brain function and alcohol use and dependence symptoms in adolescents and young adults. However, these studies do not evaluate the additive and interactive effects of stressful life events and sleep/circadian function and do not include experimental designs. More recent research by the PI and Co-I Hasler uses sleep and circadian manipulation to target reward- and stress-related brain function and improve mental health in adolescents and young adults. Building from this research, this R01 will test the central hypothesis that extending and advancing sleep will alter reward- and stress-related brain function in young adults with a history of high-risk drinking and elevated lifetime exposure to stressors. This proposal is consistent with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Strategic Objective to identify mechanisms underlying AUD and comorbid disorders.

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Outcomes

Central Contacts