The objective of the Pilot Core for the Indiana Alcohol Research Center is to identify promising investigators new to the field of alcohol research. The Pilot Core facilitates entry into alcohol research through pilot funding, ongoing mentorship, and collaborations with established investigators. The core assists with development of alcohol-related research programs with the goal of securing extramural grant funding. Through these efforts, the Core also serves the mission of identification and exploration of novel areas of long-range relevance to the Indiana Alcohol Research Center’s overall goals.
Current pilot projects
Adverse experiences during the critical neurodevelopment period of adolescence (e.g., social isolation) are a major risk factor for neuropsychiatric problems such as alcohol use disorders (AUDs). The literature indicates that disruptions in social interactions during the vulnerable period of adolescence can have long-term effects on behavior and underlying neural mechanisms, which imposes serious long-term costs on the individual and society. The central hypothesis of this project is that adolescent social isolation before and during alcohol exposure causes neuroadaptations within the basolateral amygdala-dorsolateral striatum and/or basolateral amygdala-nucleus accumbens neural circuits that result in higher drinking and greater aversion-resistant drinking.
Principle Investigator
Jodi Lukkes, PhD
Assistant Research Professor of Psychiatry
Indiana University School of Medicine
Less than 20% of those with lifetime alcohol use disorder (AUD) receive treatment, making treatment engagement a major hurdle to successful AUD intervention. The goals of this project are to test the prosocial effects of personally-relevant, high-intensity cues in AUD and related brain mechanisms. Our overarching hypothesis is that sensation seeking (SS) can successfully compete with alcohol reward drive. Specifically, we plan to test whether envisioning cues for high-value future rewards can enhance behaviors related to lower alcohol-seeking behaviors, and whether these cues alter brain function in regions associated with introspective thinking and reward circuitry. These will be the first steps toward validating a novel and clinically relevant intervention for hazardous alcohol consumption.
Principle Investigator
Brandon Oberlin, PhD
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Indiana University School of Medicine
Core Faculty
Steering Committee
David Kareken, Center Director
Karmen Yoder, Pilot Core Director
Cristine Czachowski, Center Deputy Director
Christopher Lapish, Center Scientific Director
Sean O’Connor, Center Internal Scientific Advisor
Howard Edenberg, Center Internal Scientific Advisor
Bryan Yamamoto, Center Internal Scientific Advisor
Stephen Boehm, Center Investigator
Melissa Cyders, Center Core Faculty