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Neural and Hormonal Influences on Sex Differences in Risk for AUD
Sex Differences in Risk for Alcohol Use Disorder: Neural and Hormonal Influences
Who can join
Ages 21 to 26 · All sexes · Healthy volunteers welcome
Full eligibility criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * consume 4/5 drinks per week * fluent in English * high school education * right-handed * regular menstrual cycles (women) Exclusion Criteria: * 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
About the study
The sex gap in alcohol consumption is closing rapidly, due to alarming increases among women. From 2002-2013, Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) increased 84% for women, compared to 35% for men. As such, there is an urgent need to determine the factors underlying sex differences in risk for AUD. Current addiction models propose three domains that drive problematic alcohol use and serve as candidate sex-specific risk factors: executive function, negative emotionality, and incentive salience. Data suggest that poor inhibitory control, a key component of executive function, is a stronger risk factor for women than for men. Moreover, there is have preliminary evidence that female drinkers show less engagement of neural inhibitory circuitry, and that this sex difference is influenced by estradiol. However, the degree to which hormonally-moderated sex differences in executive function extend to the negative emotionality and incentive salience domains, and how these sex differences influence current and future drinking is unknown.
The goal of this study is to identify the mechanisms underlying sex-specific risk for AUD, and ultimately to help develop sex-specific prevention and treatment efforts. The overall objective of this trial is to determine the neural and hormonal factors contributing to sex-specific risk for AUD in three addiction domains: inhibitory control (executive function), negative emotionality, and alcohol cue reactivity (incentive salience).
What is being tested
- Alcohol (drug)
Sponsor: Jessica Weafer · Participants: 100 · Started: May 11, 2021
Contact the study team
- Jessica Weafer, PhD · Phone: 614-366-0163
Official record on ClinicalTrials.gov — NCT04929288
Locations in the U.S.
| Ohio | The Ohio State University, Columbus |
Conditions
From ClinicalTrials.gov, data retrieved Sep 29, 2026. Each study sets its own eligibility; the study team decides who can join.