The Alcohol-Pain Connection: Mechanisms and Genetic/Psychological Correlates
Condition: Pain; Alcohol Drinking; Acute Pain; Drinking Behavior
MeSH terms: Acute Pain; Alcohol Drinking; Drinking Behavior
Study type: Interventional
Phase: Phase 1

Summary: 
      The societal impact of heavy alcohol consumption and chronic pain is substantial and warrants
      the existing research investment into their etiology and treatment. Moreover, evidence of
      significant co-occurrence between these conditions offers an opportunity to examine
      mechanisms in the alcohol-pain connection that may inform the development of novel
      treatments. Consistent with NIH PA-15-026 (Mechanistic Studies of Pain and Alcohol
      Dependence), the goal of the proposed study is to examine several complex and potentially
      bidirectional relations between pain and alcohol in one overarching model, which has never
      been attempted in a human experimental paradigm. The primary study aims are as follows: (1)
      to conduct the first test of both pharmacological and expectancy effects in acute alcohol
      analgesia among humans; (2) to conduct the first test of pain as a proximal antecedent of
      urge to drink and ad lib alcohol consumption, and to test whether acute analgesic effects
      predict pain-induced alcohol urge/consumption; (3) to test associations between study
      outcomes and candidate genetic polymorphisms that have been implicated in pain-alcohol
      processes; and (4) to conduct exploratory analyses of gender and pain relevant
      cognitive-affective factors as moderators of these outcomes. Participants will include 280
      moderate-to-heavy drinkers recruited from the local community. Experimental methods will
      include alcohol administration (moderate dose vs. low dose vs. placebo vs. control) and
      pre/post assessment of static/dynamic pain responses, and capsaicin/heat pain induction (vs.
      no pain induction) followed by assessment of urge to drink and ad lib alcohol consumption. By
      employing a novel experimental paradigm, the study results will provide internally valid data
      with clear and direct implications for translating these findings to clinical applications.
      It is our expectation that this work will catalyze future research and inform clinical
      practice by establishing an experimental platform that allows for the demonstration of causal
      effects, the evaluation of treatment components prior to conducting costly clinical trials,
      and the identification of important theory-based biopsychosocial mechanisms that can inform
      the development of novel integrated treatments for individuals with co-occurring pain and
      alcohol use disorders.
    


Intervention name(s): Low Alcohol; Moderate Alcohol; Placebo Alcohol; Pain Induction; No Pain Induction
Intervention type(s): Drug; Drug; Drug; Other; Other
Intervention description(s): Low Alcohol Consumption; Moderate Alcohol Consumption; Placebo Alcohol Consumption; 10% capsaicin solution placed on forearm and heat induction; Water placed on forearm
Intervention MeSH terms: Ethanol
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Factorial Assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Basic Science
Keywords: Alcohol; Pain