Grant: Project Grant

Approximately 35% of Canadian youth engage in heavy-episodic drinking ("binge drinking"). This pattern of drinking is associated with risks to health and safety and can lead to alcohol use disorder (AUD). Not all young adults that binge drink will develop AUD. Subjective responses to alcohol and heavy drinking during adolescence are critical in determining risk for AUD. Fatty Acid Amide Hydrolase (FAAH), the major enzyme that breaks-down the cannabis-like chemical anandamide, has been linked with heavier drinking. Recently we found that young adults with lower FAAH have riskier drinking patterns and simultaneously report more positive effects of alcohol as well as lower sensitivity to its unpleasant effects. What is unknown is whether FAAH activity is affected during alcohol consumption and whether this contributes to how someone experiences alcohol. In this study, we aim to determine whether FAAH activity is acutely decreased during alcohol consumption. This clinical neuroscience-human laboratory investigation will recruit 40 participants (19-25 years old) who engage in frequent heavy drinking. Participants will undergo a placebo-controlled intravenous alcohol clamp procedure during brain scans with the FAAH radiotracer [11C]CURB. Demonstrating that alcohol decreases FAAH and that changes are related to subjective response to alcohol would provide a brain-based target for drug development and for early identification of people at risk for AUD.