Understanding Sex Differences in Alcohol Use Disorder

This study is looking for young adults, aged 21-26, to help us understand why Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is increasing among women. We want to learn more about how brain function and hormones might influence differences in AUD risk between men and women. If you join, you'll participate in three experimental sessions where you'll report your alcohol consumption and provide blood samples for hormone tests. We're looking for people who drink about 4-5 alcoholic drinks per week, are right-handed, fluent in English, and have a high school education. Women must have regular menstrual cycles. We are not enrolling individuals with serious medical problems, certain body weights, or other substance use disorders. The study aims to understand how brain activity related to control and emotions might differ between sexes and how hormones like estradiol play a role.

Study design
This is an interventional study planning to enroll 100 participants to understand factors influencing sex differences in Alcohol Use Disorder.
What's involved
You will complete three experimental sessions. In each session, you will provide detailed reports of your alcohol consumption and a blood sample.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
The primary endpoints for this study, neural inhibitory function and neural negative emotionality, are measured at 13 and 14 minutes, respectively.

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NCT04929288

Neural and Hormonal Influences on Sex Differences in Risk for AUD

Recruiting
NAAges 21–26InterventionalBasic science
Jessica Weafer
~100 participants
Updated 2026-05-22 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Alcohol

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Neural inhibitory function
Measured over 13 minutes
+12 more outcomes measured
Alcohol Use Disorder
1 sites across 1 states
Ohio1
  • Jessica Weafer, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Ohio State University

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

consume 4/5 drinks per week
fluent in English
high school education
right-handed
regular menstrual cycles (women)

Exclusion

serious medical problems
body weight \<110 or \>210 lbs
current medical or psychiatric conditions requiring medication for which alcohol is contraindicated
substance use disorder other than alcohol
current or recent history of inpatient/intensive treatment for addictive behaviors
pregnant, nursing, on hormonal contraception
contraindications for fMRI
smoking \> 5 cigarettes per day
  • Neural inhibitory function13 minutes

    One measure of neural inhibitory function during performance of the stop signal task will be activity (as measured by BOLD % signal change)

  • Neural inhibitory function13 minutes

    The other measure of neural inhibitory function during performance of the stop signal task will be functional connectivity for the StopInh\>Go contrast.

  • Neural negative emotionality14 minutes

    One measure of neural negative emotionality during performance of the Emotional Pictures Task will be activity (as measured by BOLD % signal change)

  • Neural negative emotionality14 minutes

    The other measure of neural negative emotionality during performance of the Emotional Pictures Task will be functional connectivity for the Negative\>Neutral contrast.

  • Neural alcohol cue reactivity12 minutes

    One measure of neural alcohol cue reactivity during performance of the Alcohol Cue Reactivity Task will be activity (as measured by BOLD % signal change)

  • Neural alcohol cue reactivity12 minutes

    The other measure of neural alcohol cue reactivity during performance of the Alcohol Cue Reactivity Task will be functional connectivity for the Alcohol\>Neutral contrast.

  • Intravenous alcohol self-administration (IV-ASA)60 minutes

    One measure of IV-ASA will be peak BrAC (mg%; highest BrAC obtained during the IV-ASA period)

  • Intravenous alcohol self-administration (IV-ASA)60 minutes

    Another measure of IV-ASA will be whether or not a participant reached binge level of alcohol exposure (80mg%)

  • Intravenous alcohol self-administration (IV-ASA)60 minutes

    The final measure of IV-ASA will be time to reach binge level of alcohol exposure (80mg%)

  • Self-reported current alcohol consumption20 minutes

    One measure of current alcohol consumption will be number of binge days (4/5 or more drinks in a sitting for women/men) as determined by responses on the Timeline Followback.

  • Self-reported current alcohol consumption20 minutes

    The other measure of current alcohol consumption will be average peak BrAC obtained on drinking days over the past 5 days, as determined by responses on the Timeline Followback.

  • Prospective alcohol consumption18 months

    One measure of prospective alcohol consumption will be number of binge episodes as determined by responses on the 90-day Timeline Followback.

  • Prospective alcohol consumption18 months

    The other measure of prospective alcohol consumption will be drinking days per month, as determined by responses on the 90-day Timeline Followback.