TerminatedNot Applicable

Flexibility, Alcohol Misuse, and Excitation

Stopped: The study was terminated due to the death of the Principal Investigator.

United States7 participantsStarted 2024-07-18

Plain-language summary

The goal of this study is to learn whether a single non-invasive brain stimulation alpha-transcranial alternating current stimulation (alpha-tACS) session changes measures of excitability in the prefrontal cortex. It will also learn whether these changes predict differences in habitual action selection in a laboratory task and whether the effects depend on alcohol use history. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does alpha-tACS reduce habitual action selection by reducing excitability in the prefrontal cortex? Is alpha-tACS most effective in reducing habitual action selection in hazardous drinkers who engaged in binge-drinking during adolescence? Researchers will compare alpha-tACS to sham stimulation to see if alpha-tACS changes habitual action selection by changing prefrontal excitability. Participants will: Visit the lab for behavioral training Visit the imaging center for an MRI session Visit the lab to receive alpha-tACS or sham stimulation during behavioral testing and undergo EEG recordings before and after stimulation Visit the imaging center for a repeat MRI session Provide a small sample of blood from a finger-prick in the first and last visits.

Who can participate

Age range22 Years – 50 Years

SexALL

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AI-rewrites the medical criteria so a patient or caregiver can understand them. Always confirm with the trial site.

Inclusion Criteria: * • 22-50 years old * Have a high school diploma or equivalent * Medically healthy * Fluent in English For RISK group only: * High risk alcohol use in the past month \[World Health Organization (WHO ) risk level 2-4\] * No history of adolescent binge drinking For RISK+ Adolescent binge alcohol (AIE) group only: * High risk alcohol use in the past month (WHO risk level 2-4) * High levels of adolescent alcohol use (4 or more binge drinking episodes before age 18) For Control (CON) group only: * Low risk alcohol use throughout the lifetime (WHO risk level 0-1) * No history of adolescent binge drinking * No lifetime history of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) Exclusion Criteria: * Any individual who meets one or more of the following criteria will be excluded from participation \[excluding positive breath alcohol concentration (BAC), urine drug screen, psychiatric diagnoses, and color blindness, all will be self-reported\]: * Lifetime history of a substance use disorder (SUD; including nicotine) but participants will not be excluded for an AUD. * Neurological disease such as dementia, seizures or head trauma * History of psychosis or psychotic episodes * Diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) * Any systemic or inflammatory disease that could affect cognitive functioning (e.g., cancer, cardiovascular disease) * Any motor or visual disturbances that could hinder task performance (e.g., color blindness) * Use of psyc…

What they're measuring

Change in Proportion of Errors

Timeframe: Pre-stimulation (Session 2) up to 2 weeks before, post-stimulation (Session 3), immediately after

Change in Prefrontal GABA:Glutamate/Glutamine Ratio

Timeframe: Pre-stimulation (Session 2) up to 2 weeks before, post-stimulation (Session 3), immediately after

Trial details

NCT IDNCT06634771

SponsorUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Sponsor typeOTHER

Study typeINTERVENTIONAL

Primary completion2025-01-24

Results submitted2026-01-22