Study of Alcohol Effects on Social Brain Activity and Behavior Using EEG in Adults Aged 21-30

What this Trial Is About

This research aims to understand how alcohol affects social and individual behaviors by studying young adults aged 21 to 30 who regularly drink alcohol. It focuses on how alcohol influences social bonding, mood, and brain activity during interactions between pairs of people. The study uses brain scanning techniques to observe brain patterns and measures mood and social feelings to explore alcohols role in social rewards and risks for alcohol use disorder. Participants will attend two laboratory sessions about one week apart, each involving interactions with a stranger while consuming either an alcoholic beverage targeting a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or a similar non-alcoholic drink. The order of these sessions is randomized. During each session, participants perform various tasks, including music perception, attention tests, and natural social interactions, while brain activity is recorded simultaneously from both people using EEG hyperscanning. Throughout the study, participants complete questionnaires on mood and social closeness, and nonverbal behaviors are observed during interactions. Researchers analyze brain synchrony within and between participants and track drinking behavior over time. The main outcomes include brain activity patterns during and after beverage intake and long-term alcohol use reports. The total participation involves two laboratory visits and follow-up assessments lasting up to 24 months.

Alcohol and the Social Brain: An Alcohol-Administration Hyperscanning Study Employing a Within-Subject Design