Brain scans and booze: new study seeks to unravel Bipolar-Alcohol link

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: Inclusion criteria for all participants: * between 21 and 26 years of age * having consumed at least 4 (men) or 3 (women) drinks on a single occasion over the last year * euthymic at the time of enrollment Inclusion criteria for bipolar disorder participants: \- Meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5 Research Version (DSM-V-RV) diagnostic criteria for bipolar disorder, confirmed by structured interview Exclusion Criteria: For all subjects exclusion criteria include: * history of significant medical illness, particularly if possible changes in cerebral tissue * neurologic abnormality including significant head trauma (loss of consciousness of ≥5-min) * full Scale intelligence quotient (IQ) \<85 * contraindication to MRI scanning * positive pregnancy test * current cannabis use disorder\>moderate * history of severe AUDs * scores \> 15 on the alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT; part of phone screen) * ever being in an abstinence-oriented treatment program for alcohol use * reporting wanting to quit drinking but not being able to * any medical, religious, or other reasons for not drinking alcohol * history of heart attack, heart trouble, high blood pressure, diabetes, or liver disease * an adverse reaction to alcoholic beverages * reporting never consuming 4 (men) or 3 (women) or more drinks on a single occasion over the last year * unwillingness to have a friend or family member drive them home after the alcohol administration sessions * a past year substance use disorder (other than alcohol, cannabis, or nicotine) Additional exclusion criteria for bipolar disorder participants: \- not taking medications for greater than or equal to 4 weeks (i.e. participants must be stable on medications) Additional exclusion criteria for healthy comparison subjects also include: * any prior psychiatric hospitalizations * lifetime history of a neurodevelopmental disorder, affective disorder, psychotic disorder, eating disorder * greater than 1 month of lifetime psychotropic medication.