Bipolar DisorderLong_BACSNCT05838274
Acute Alcohol Response In Bipolar Disorder: a Longitudinal Alcohol Administration/fMRI Study
A study of Bipolar Disorder and Alcohol Drinking, run by University of Texas at Austin at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) affect up to 60% of individuals with bipolar disorder during their lifetime and is associated with worse illness outcomes, yet few studies have been performed to clarify the causes of this comorbidity. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 21 to 26 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Bipolar Disorder, Alcohol Drinking, Alcohol Use Disorder
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 100 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 11 Jul 2023to 31 Mar 2028
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- Not yet: the study is under way
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 21 to 26 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- between 21 and 26 years of age
- having consumed at least 4 (men) or 3 (women) drinks on a single occasion over the last year
- euthymic at the time of enrollment
- Meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5 Research Version (DSM-V-RV) diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder, confirmed by structured interview
Who cannot join
- For all subjects exclusion criteria include:
- history of significant medical illness, particularly if possible changes in cerebral tissue
- neurologic abnormality including significant head trauma (loss of consciousness of ≥5-min)
- full Scale intelligence quotient (IQ) <85
- contraindication to MRI scanning
- positive pregnancy test
Show all 23Show fewer
- current cannabis use disorder>moderate
- history of severe AUDs
- scores > 15 on the alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT; part of phone screen)
- ever being in an abstinence-oriented treatment program for alcohol use
- reporting wanting to quit drinking but not being able to
- any medical, religious, or other reasons for not drinking alcohol
- history of heart attack, heart trouble, high blood pressure, diabetes, or liver disease
- an adverse reaction to alcoholic beverages
- reporting never consuming 4 (men) or 3 (women) or more drinks on a single occasion over the last year
- unwillingness to have a friend or family member drive them home after the alcohol administration sessions
- a past year substance use disorder (other than alcohol, cannabis, or nicotine)
- Additional exclusion criteria for bipolar disorder participants:
- not taking medications for greater than or equal to 4 weeks (i.e. participants must be stable on medications)
- Additional exclusion criteria for healthy comparison subjects also include:
- any prior psychiatric hospitalizations
- lifetime history of a neurodevelopmental disorder, affective disorder, psychotic disorder, eating disorder
- greater than 1 month of lifetime psychotropic medication.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
United States1 site, 1 recruiting
- Recruiting
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas, 78712
Research Coordinator, (512) 495-5198, behavioral.neuroimaging@austin.utexas.edu
About this study
Official title: Biological Risk Factors for the Prospective Development of Alcohol Use Disorders in Young Adults With Bipolar Disorder and Typically Developing Young Adults
Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) affect up to 60% of individuals with bipolar disorder during their lifetime and is associated with worse illness outcomes, yet few studies have been performed to clarify the causes of this comorbidity. Understanding biological risk factors that associate with and predict the development of AUDs in bipolar disorder could inform interventions and prevention efforts to reduce the rate of this comorbidity and improve outcomes of both disorders. Identifying predictors of risk requires longitudinal studies in bipolar disorder aimed at capturing the mechanisms leading to the emergence of AUDs. Previous work in AUDs suggest that subjective responses to alcohol and stress-related mechanisms may contribute to the development of AUDs. In bipolar disorder, altered developmental trajectory of critical ventral prefrontal networks that modulate mood and reward processing may alter responses to alcohol and stressors; consequently, the disruption in typical neurodevelopment may be an underlying factor for the high rates of comorbidity. No longitudinal data exist investigating if this developmental hypothesis is correct. To address this gap, the investigators will use a multimodal neuroimaging approach, modeling structural and functional neural trajectories of corticolimbic networks over young adulthood, incorporating alcohol administration procedures, clinical phenotyping, and investigating effects of acute stress exposure and early life stress. Research aims are to identify biological risk factors-i.e., changes in subjective response to alcohol and associated neural trajectories-that are associated with the development of alcohol misuse and symptoms of AUDs over a two-year longitudinal period in young adults with bipolar disorder and typical developing young adults. Longitudinal data will be collected on 160 young adults (50% with bipolar disorder, 50% female; aged 21-26). This study is a natural extension of the PI's K01 award. How acute exposure to stress and childhood maltreatment affects subjective response to alcohol and risk for prospective alcohol misuse and symptoms of AUDs will be investigated. The investigators will test our hypothesis that developmental differences in bipolar disorder versus typical developing individuals disrupt corticolimbic networks during young adulthood, increase sensitivity to stress, and lead to changes in subjective response to alcohol and placebo response increasing risk for developing AUDs.
Read the detailed description
The PI is currently investigating subjective response to alcohol in bipolar disorder and typical developing young adults (n=60; 50% with bipolar disorder) using placebo-controlled alcohol administration with baseline structural/functional MRI assessments collected with her K01. The proposed work will extend this active study to enroll 100 new young adults (50% with bipolar disorder) to complete baseline clinical, MRI, and placebo-controlled alcohol administration sessions. The PI's K01 is focused on investigating differences in subjective and neural response to alcohol between bipolar disorder and typical developing young adults. The proposed study will focus on investigating changes in subjective response to alcohol, placebo response, and relations with neural trajectories, the role(s) of stress, and prediction of alcohol problems over a two-year period. Longitudinal follow-up (clinical, detailed assessment of alcohol use, and MRI) will occur on average 1- and 2-years following enrollment. Participants enrolled on the PI's K01 will be brought back for longitudinal assessments to reach N=80 per group with longitudinal data (50% female; aged 21-26)]. At 2-year follow-up, placebo-controlled alcohol administration sessions will be repeated to test if sensitivity to alcohol changes over time-and if change in sensitivity to alcohol is associated with progressive neural changes in corticolimbic brain networks during young adulthood-and associations with alcohol use and symptoms of AUDs over time, and interactions with bipolar disorder. Changes in placebo-response and if changes are predictive of increased alcohol use and symptoms of AUDs will also be modeled. At one-year follow-up, a subset of participants will be invited to complete a psychosocial stress and neutral fMRI task on separate days (counter balanced; n=40 per group). Participants will immediately complete an alcohol session following the fMRI tasks and stress-induced changes in subjective response to alcohol and interactions with group will be modeled.
- Conditions
- Bipolar Disorder, Alcohol Drinking, Alcohol Use Disorder
- Being tested
- Alcohol vs. Placebo beverage conditions
- Medical subject headings
- Bipolar Disorder, Alcohol Drinking, Alcoholism
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Alcohol vs. Placebo beverage conditionsOther
Individuals will drink beverages containing alcohol. How they respond to a high vs. low dose will be compared.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol | Active comparator | Participants will be provided alcohol during study visits and changes in behavior/neural activity after consuming alcohol will be examined. Receives: Other: Alcohol vs. Placebo beverage conditions |
| Placebo | Placebo comparator | placebo beverage condition Receives: Other: Alcohol vs. Placebo beverage conditions |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
changes in subjective response
Subjective response to alcohol will be measured with the subjective effects of alcohol scale (SEAS) at baseline and two-years later and changes in subjective response to alcohol over time (SEAS two year follow-up minus SEAS baseline) investigated and interactions with group (young adults with bipolar disorder, typical comparison young adults) modeled.
Measured: 2 years
Neural trajectories associated with subjective response to alcohol
Changes in neural trajectories over the two-year follow-up period will be modeled and relations with subjective response at two-year follow-up investigated. We will model changes in cortical thickness and surface area of frontolimbic regions of interest and investigate if these neural trajectories relate to changes in subjective response to alcohol (measured with the SEAS at baseline and follow-up).
Measured: 2 years
Relations between changes in subjective response and associated neural trajectories with alcohol use disorder symptoms at two-year follow-up
Changes in subjective response (measured with the SEAS) and neural trajectories over the follow up period (changes in cortical thickness and surface area of frontlimbic regions of interest) and relations with alcohol problems at two-year follow up will be modeled with number of alcohol use disorder symptoms on the SCID at two-year follow up as the dependent variable.
Measured: 2 years
Relations between changes in subjective response and associated neural trajectories with alcohol misuse and problems at two-year follow-up
Changes in subjective response (measured with the SEAS) and neural trajectories over the follow up period (changes in cortical thickness and surface area of frontolimbic regions of interest) and relations with alcohol problems at two-year follow up will be modeled with AUDIT score at two-year follow up as the dependent variable.
Measured: 2 years
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted1 May 2023
- Study start11 Jul 2023
- Primary completion31 Mar 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion31 Mar 2028 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Bipolar DisorderStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of Texas at AustinThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 100 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Texas at Austin
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Elizabeth Thomas Cox Lippard, University of Texas at Austin
- Investigators
- Elizabeth Lippard, PhD, Principal investigator, University of Texas at Austin
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05838274
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- R01AA030038
- Acronym
- Long_BACS
- Status last verified
- Jan 2026
- First submitted
- 10 Apr 2023
- Last updated
- 12 Jan 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: After study completion and publication of finding, functional neuroimaging data and behavior data collected following alcohol and placebo conditions will be shared.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 12 Jan 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Biological Risk Factors for the Prospective Development of Alcohol Use Disorders in Young Adults With Bipolar Disorder and Typically Developing Young Adults
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05838274
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- Long_BACS / R01AA030038
- Conditions
- Bipolar Disorder, Alcohol Drinking, Alcohol Use Disorder
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Recruiting
- Enrolment
- 100 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- University of Texas at AustinUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 11 Jul 2023 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 31 Mar 2028 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 31 Mar 2028 (estimated)
- First posted
- 1 May 2023 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) affect up to 60% of individuals with bipolar disorder during their lifetime and is associated with worse illness outcomes, yet few studies have been performed to clarify the causes of this comorbidity. Understanding biological risk factors that associate with and predict the development of AUDs in bipolar disorder could inform interventions and prevention efforts to reduce the rate of this comorbidity and improve outcomes of both disorders. Identifying predictors of risk requires longitudinal studies in bipolar disorder aimed at capturing the mechanisms leading to the emergence of AUDs. Previous work in AUDs suggest that subjective responses to alcohol and stress-related mechanisms may contribute to the development of AUDs. In bipolar disorder, altered developmental trajectory of critical ventral prefrontal networks that modulate mood and reward processing may alter responses to alcohol and stressors; consequently, the disruption in typical neurodevelopment may be an underlying factor for the high rates of comorbidity. No longitudinal data exist investigating if this developmental hypothesis is correct. To address this gap, the investigators will use a multimodal neuroimaging approach, modeling structural and functional neural trajectories of corticolimbic networks over young adulthood, incorporating alcohol administration procedures, clinical phenotyping, and investigating effects of acute stress exposure and early life stress. Research aims are to identify biological risk factors-i.e., changes in subjective response to alcohol and associated neural trajectories-that are associated with the development of alcohol misuse and symptoms of AUDs over a two-year longitudinal period in young adults with bipolar disorder and typical developing young adults. Longitudinal data will be collected on 160 young adults (50% with bipolar disorder, 50% female; aged 21-26). This study is a natural extension of the PI's K01 award. How acute exposure to stress and childhood maltreatment affects subjective response to alcohol and risk for prospective alcohol misuse and symptoms of AUDs will be investigated. The investigators will test our hypothesis that developmental differences in bipolar disorder versus typical developing individuals disrupt corticolimbic networks during young adulthood, increase sensitivity to stress, and lead to changes in subjective response to alcohol and placebo response increasing risk for developing AUDs.
Detailed description
The PI is currently investigating subjective response to alcohol in bipolar disorder and typical developing young adults (n=60; 50% with bipolar disorder) using placebo-controlled alcohol administration with baseline structural/functional MRI assessments collected with her K01. The proposed work will extend this active study to enroll 100 new young adults (50% with bipolar disorder) to complete baseline clinical, MRI, and placebo-controlled alcohol administration sessions. The PI's K01 is focused on investigating differences in subjective and neural response to alcohol between bipolar disorder and typical developing young adults. The proposed study will focus on investigating changes in subjective response to alcohol, placebo response, and relations with neural trajectories, the role(s) of stress, and prediction of alcohol problems over a two-year period. Longitudinal follow-up (clinical, detailed assessment of alcohol use, and MRI) will occur on average 1- and 2-years following enrollment. Participants enrolled on the PI's K01 will be brought back for longitudinal assessments to reach N=80 per group with longitudinal data (50% female; aged 21-26)]. At 2-year follow-up, placebo-controlled alcohol administration sessions will be repeated to test if sensitivity to alcohol changes over time-and if change in sensitivity to alcohol is associated with progressive neural changes in corticolimbic brain networks during young adulthood-and associations with alcohol use and symptoms of AUDs over time, and interactions with bipolar disorder. Changes in placebo-response and if changes are predictive of increased alcohol use and symptoms of AUDs will also be modeled. At one-year follow-up, a subset of participants will be invited to complete a psychosocial stress and neutral fMRI task on separate days (counter balanced; n=40 per group). Participants will immediately complete an alcohol session following the fMRI tasks and stress-induced changes in subjective response to alcohol and interactions with group will be modeled.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Prevention
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Crossover
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol | Active comparator | Other: Alcohol vs. Placebo beverage conditionsParticipants will be provided alcohol during study visits and changes in behavior/neural activity after consuming alcohol will be examined. |
| Placebo | Placebo comparator | Other: Alcohol vs. Placebo beverage conditionsplacebo beverage condition |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 21 to 26 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- between 21 and 26 years of age
- having consumed at least 4 (men) or 3 (women) drinks on a single occasion over the last year
- euthymic at the time of enrollment
- Meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5 Research Version (DSM-V-RV) diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder, confirmed by structured interview
Key exclusion criteria (23 listed)
- history of significant medical illness, particularly if possible changes in cerebral tissue
- neurologic abnormality including significant head trauma (loss of consciousness of ≥5-min)
- full Scale intelligence quotient (IQ) <85
- contraindication to MRI scanning
- positive pregnancy test
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Alcohol vs. Placebo beverage conditionsIndividuals will drink beverages containing alcohol. How they respond to a high vs. low dose will be compared. | Other | Alcohol, Placebo |
Primary outcome
changes in subjective response
Time frame: 2 years
Subjective response to alcohol will be measured with the subjective effects of alcohol scale (SEAS) at baseline and two-years later and changes in subjective response to alcohol over time (SEAS two year follow-up minus SEAS baseline) investigated and interactions with group (young adults with bipolar disorder, typical comparison young adults) modeled.
Neural trajectories associated with subjective response to alcohol
Time frame: 2 years
Changes in neural trajectories over the two-year follow-up period will be modeled and relations with subjective response at two-year follow-up investigated. We will model changes in cortical thickness and surface area of frontolimbic regions of interest and investigate if these neural trajectories relate to changes in subjective response to alcohol (measured with the SEAS at baseline and follow-up).
Relations between changes in subjective response and associated neural trajectories with alcohol use disorder symptoms at two-year follow-up
Time frame: 2 years
Changes in subjective response (measured with the SEAS) and neural trajectories over the follow up period (changes in cortical thickness and surface area of frontlimbic regions of interest) and relations with alcohol problems at two-year follow up will be modeled with number of alcohol use disorder symptoms on the SCID at two-year follow up as the dependent variable.
Relations between changes in subjective response and associated neural trajectories with alcohol misuse and problems at two-year follow-up
Time frame: 2 years
Changes in subjective response (measured with the SEAS) and neural trajectories over the follow up period (changes in cortical thickness and surface area of frontolimbic regions of interest) and relations with alcohol problems at two-year follow up will be modeled with AUDIT score at two-year follow up as the dependent variable.
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 12 Jan 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. After study completion and publication of finding, functional neuroimaging data and behavior data collected following alcohol and placebo conditions will be shared.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
Elizabeth Lippard, PhD principal investigator
University of Texas at Austin
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study of Bipolar Disorder and Alcohol Drinking, run by University of Texas at Austin at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 23 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 12 Jan 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
Contact Research Coordinator (5124955198, behavioral.neuroimaging@austin.utexas.edu), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
changes in subjective response (time frame: 2 years). The study lists 4 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 12 Jan 2026.