Multisensory Processing of Alcohol Cues in Young Adult Binge Drinkers

Project Summary In 2022 approximately 61.2 million people aged 12 and older reported binge alcohol use in the past month and young adults ages 18 to 25 represent the highest proportion of binge drinkers. Binge drinking puts the user at risk for a multitude of acute (e.g., blackouts, risky sex, motor vehicle accidents, etc.) and chronic (e.g., alcohol

use disorder, liver disease) negative health outcomes. Despite the variety of interventions that have been developed, very few have shown high levels of effectiveness. There remains a need to improve strategies to slow the progression from risky drinking to alcohol use disorder. Cue exposure therapy has been proposed as a

potential treatment and intervention for problematic alcohol use, yet recent meta-analytic work has suggested limited effectiveness for cue exposure interventions. A challenge in this area is that most research has failed to capture the multisensory nature of cues. Recent work has demonstrated that multisensory aspects of craving

and cue reactivity are associated with addictive behaviors. These findings emphasize the importance of addressing the multisensory nature of cue reactivity as an intervention component. Moreover, the response to multisensory alcohol cues may also depend on the level of realistic appearance. Virtual reality technology has

been used to explore cue reactivity in relation to addictive behavior, but few studies have adequately examined the multisensory aspects in conjunction with degree of realism specifically for alcohol cues. The proposed study will examine behavioral and electrophysiological cue reactivity by comparing responses to uni- and multisensory

alcohol and neutral cues varying in degree of realistic appearance. We will also explore the effects of multisensory congruence as a factor to modulate cue responses. Young adults will be recruited into two groups (binge or social drinkers) based on their alcohol consumption. Participants will complete a passive viewing task

involving presentation of visual unisensory and multisensory (visuo-olfactory, and visuo-olfactory-tactile) neutral and individualized alcohol cues that vary in degree of realism (two–dimensional images vs. three dimensional simulations in virtual reality vs. real physical objects). Participants will also perform a cross-modal Stroop-like

task in which they respond to alcohol and neutral cues that differ in terms of multisensory congruence. Self- reported craving, alcohol consumption, and related behaviors will also be assessed. The proposed study provides an ideal framework for undergraduate students to acquire research experience on a scientific project

that is directly relevant for young adults and has potential for broader public health significance.