Mechanisms of Risky Alcohol Use in Young Adults: Linking Sleep to Reward- and Stress-Related Brain Function

Eligibility Criteria

• 1. 18-24 years of age;
• 2. NIAAA criteria for past-month high-risk drinking (i.e., ≥ 4 drinks/day or ≥ 8/week for women, ≥ 5 drinks/day or ≥ 15/week for men);
• 3. short and late sleep (weekday sleep duration ≤ 7 hours and bedtime ≥ 24:00 (midnight); n=60) or long and early sleep (weekday sleep duration ≥ 7 hours and bedtime ≤ 24:00 (midnight); n=30), which will be determined with the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire;
• 4. at least moderate lifetime exposure to stressors (≥ 2 events on the 20-item Adult Stress and Adversity Inventory-Screener);
• 5. not currently in high school; and
• 6. English language fluency.
• 1. Severe alcohol use disorder (AUD) and/or substance use disorder (SUD), defined as ≥6 AUD/SUD criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5;
• 2. acute alcohol intoxication on the days of the laboratory post-intensive visits, operationalized as a blood alcohol concentration of .02 or higher during Breathalyzer saliva screen;
• 3. current sleep disorders other than insomnia, delayed sleep phase disorder, or hypersomnia;
• 4. lifetime diagnosis of bipolar or schizophrenia spectrum disorder;
• 5. urgent suicide risk, defined by moderate/severe risk as per Columbia Suicide Severity Rating (CSSR) Community Card, and clinician determination that current risk requires immediate action, precluding engagement in study;
• 6. certain medical conditions (e.g., serious neurological disorder, heart failure or serious trouble, history of head injury with unconsciousness \> 5 minutes);
• 7. conditions that are contraindicated for MRI (e.g., ferrous metal in the body);
• 8. positive screen for participant-reported eye disease, epilepsy, or photosensitizing medications that are contraindicated during the manipulation condition when bright light is administered (e.g., psychiatric neuroleptic drugs \[e.g., phenothiazine\], psoralen drugs, antiarrhythmic drugs \[e.g., amiodarone\], antimalarial and antirheumatic drugs, porphyrin drugs used in photodynamic treatment of skin diseases);
• 9. use of melatonin if participant is not willing to discontinue use for the duration of the study.
• 1. travel across two or more time zones within the month prior to the overnight study visits.
• 2. begin/end a prescribed medication within 2 months of the observational study;
• 3. medication dose changes within the timeframe calculated as 5x the drug's half-life \[the time to reach pharmacokinetic steady-state\] before the initiation of the observational or experimental studies;
• 4. participant-anticipated changes in prescribed medications or medication dosing during the observational or experimental studies.