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Effect of Acute Alcohol Intoxication on Neural Processes During Decisions to Engage in HIV Risk Behaviors
Sponsor: National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC)
Summary
Background: People who binge drink are more likely to have risky sexual encounters, and alcohol changes brain activity associated with reward decisions related to those behaviors. Researchers want to better understand how alcohol s effects on risky sexual behavior that might lead people to contract sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) like HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Objective: To study how alcohol impacts decisions about engaging in risky sex. Eligibility: Healthy adults ages 21-65 without alcohol use disorder Design: Participants will have 2 study visits, 1 month apart. They will arrive and depart via taxi. They will consume alcohol at 1 visit, chosen at random. At visit 1, participants will answer questions about HIV knowledge, HIV risk behaviors, and sexual interests. They will view pictures of clothed people and pick those they might have sex with. They will think about the person s risk of having an STD and whether they would use a condom during sex. At both visits, participants will sit in a bar-like room and have 2 drinks that may contain alcohol. Then they will have magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans. For this, they will lie on a table that slides in and out of a metal tube. The scanner makes loud noises; they will get earplugs. They will complete tasks that include looking at pictures and making choices about money. At the beginning of both visits the participants will be screened with urine drug test and pregnancy test. Duiring each visit the participants breath alcohol will be measured, and they will discuss whether they feel intoxicated. Participants will get snacks and stay at the clinic for up to 6 hours after the MRIs.
Official title: The Effect of Acute Alcohol Intoxication on Neural Processes During Decisions to Engage in HIV Risk Behaviors
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
21 Years - 65 Years
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
20
Start Date
2021-03-18
Completion Date
2025-04-02
Last Updated
2026-06-24
Healthy Volunteers
Yes
Conditions
Interventions
Alcohol beverage
High-proof alcohol (e.g., Everclear) will be mixed with orange juice in an approximately 1:3 ratio and split evenly into two drinks. After splitting the orange juice into two cups, a small amount (approx. 6 ml) of high-proof alcohol will be floated on top of the beverage.
Placebo beverage
The final drink will have the same volume of liquid as the alcohol beverage.
Locations (1)
National Institutes of Health Clinical Center
Bethesda, Maryland, United States