BARCS STUDY: A BRIEF OVERVIEW

Principal Investigator : Dr. Godfrey Pearlson

CCSU Investigators: Dr. Carol Shaw Austad

Dr. Carolyn Fallahi

Dr. Rebecca Wood

Trinity Investigator: Dr. Sarah Raskin

Funded by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) grant RO1 AA016599

The BARCS Mascot

STUDY OBJECTIVES

Identify neurological, cognitive, emotional, and academic developmental changes during adolescence and early adulthood

Investigate changes in typical neuropsychological development associated with alcohol use

Identify different drinking patterns among college-age drinkers and the various outcomes associated with these patterns

Generate normative developmental data, based on light drinkers and nondrinkers, and document trends over time

PARTICIPANTS

2000 college freshmen (ages 18-25)

Participants were currently attending Central Connecticut State University or Trinity College (the tables that follow represent CCSU only)

Participants were recruited from introductory psychology classes, and from the general student population at both universities

PARTICIPANT DEMOGRAPHICS (CCSU):SEX AND AGE

Age (At Initial

Testing)Number Percentage

18 1153 76.2

19 285 18.8

20 38 2.5

21 14 0.9

22 2 0.1

23 9 0.6

24 7 0.5

25 4 0.3

Sex Number Percentage

Male 740 48.9

Female 774 51.1

Total # Participants 1514

PARTICIPANT DEMOGRAPHICS (CCSU):RACE AND ETHNICITY

Race Number Percentage

White 1196 79.0

Black 140 9.3

Asian 44 2.9

American Indian/Alaskan 2 0.1

Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0 0.0

Multi-Racial 26 1.7

Not Reported 106 7.0Ethnicity Number Percentage

Hispanic 142 9.4

Non-Hispanic 1368 90.4

Not Reported 3 0.3

PROCEDURE:CCSU AND TRINITY

Participants attended an initial set of two appointments as freshmen Baseline measures of health, alcohol and drug

use, and cognitive functioning

After these appointments, participants recorded their alcohol and substance use, as well as any psychological and social changes using monthly online surveys

After two years, participants completed a set of two follow-up appointments, nearly identical to the first

PROCEDURE:OLIN NEUROPSYCHIATRIC RESEARCH

CENTER (ONRC)

A portion of participants from CCSU and Trinity were invited to ONRC, located in the Institute of Living at Hartford Hospital, for further testing

Procedure: 30-minute electroencephalography (EEG) 90-minute MRI Computerized neurocognitive tests Detailed interview assessing alcohol use Substance use history

BRAIN IMAGING TECHNIQUES FOR BARCS: FMRI AND SMRI

Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging (sMRI) Powerful magnetic field is used to produce an image

of the internal structure of the body A structural MRI provides a clear and detailed image

of brain tissue BARCS will use this technique to see structural changes in

the brains of participants through the duration of the study

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Visualizes brain activity by measuring changes in

blood flow, using blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) contrast

Participants perform various tasks while in the scanner

This allows us to assess the extent to which different areas of the brain are activated during these tasks

BRAIN IMAGING TECHNIQUES FOR BARCS:EEG

Electroencephalography (EEG) measures electrical activity in the brain via electrodes placed on the scalp When neurons fire, they change their electrical charge,

thus cell firing can be detected by these electrodes

There are 6 EEG bands Each band refers to a different frequency range

recorded by the electrodes, and corresponds to different cognitive activities and arousal levels These bands allow us to make inferences about participants’

cognitive activity at different points in time, throughout various tasks

EEG is useful when looking to detect very rapid changes (recorded in milliseconds) in cell firing

EEG Cap

CONCEPTS AND MEASURES

Impulsivity Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11) Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS)

Neurocognitive Functioning One-Back (Attention) Groton Maze Task (Spatial Problem Solving,

Memory) Digit-Symbol Task (Processing Speed) BART (Inhibition) Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral

Activation System Scale (BIS/BAS)

CONCEPTS AND MEASURES, CONT.

Psychiatric Assessment Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI)

Environmental Factors Life Events Scale for Students (LESS) Perceived Social Support Scale (PSS)

Alcohol and Substance Use Patterns Modified Timeline Followback (TLFB) Self Rating Effects of Alcohol (SRE) Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV (SCID)- Alcohol

Use Disorder and Substance Use Disorder Subscales Drinking Motives Questionnaire (Modified) Fagerstrom (Nicotine Dependence)

PRELIMINARY RESULTS:DRINKING/SUBSTANCE USE ON CAMPUS

Results for participant reported alcohol use: Average number of drinks per week: 5.56 “In the past 30 days on those occasions when you drank

alcohol, how many drinks did you usually have?”: 3.33 “On how many days did you have a drink of alcohol in the

past 30 days?”: 3.87

Results: Days of marijuana use in the past 30 days: Never: 69% 1-5 days: 16.4% 6-19 days: 7.1% 20-30 days: 7.6%

In a sample of CCSU participants (N=430): 90 (20.9%) met criteria for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) 340 (79.1%) did not meet criteria for AUD

PRELIMINARY RESULTS:CORRELATES OF ALCOHOL USE

Dysfunctional Drinkers: Increased scores of impulsivity, sensation seeking,

disinhibition, and fun seeking

Social Drinkers: Increased motor impulsiveness (acting on the spur of the

moment) and fun seeking, compared to non-drinkers

Non-Drinkers (Teetotalers): Decreased levels of perceived social support from friends Fewer life event stressors

Drinking and GPA Negative correlation between binge drinking and GPA This trend is strongest in the first year of college, then

begins to diminish

PRELIMINARY RESULTS:FAMILY HISTORY OF ALCOHOLISM

Those with a family history of alcoholism (FH+) have significantly different motives for drinking than FH- Social, Coping, and Enhancement drinking

motives were reported at a higher rate for FH+

FH+ also: Reported more days of drinking per month Reported more days of binge drinking per month Higher rates of AUD and SUD Increased scores of sensation seeking, cognitive

instability, and antisocial personality disorder

COMPARISON: CORE DATA AND BARCS DATA

CORE Institute is a national database that collects information about student alcohol and drug use The following CORE data is taken from a sample

of 890 CCSU freshmen from 2010

Days of Marijuana Use (Past 30 days)

# Days BARCS CORE

Never 69% 74.5%

1-5 16.4% 11.2%

6-19 7.1% 4.8%

20-30 7.6% 9.5%

Drinking Behavior

BARCS CORE

# of Drinks/week 5.56 5.90

Drink to Cope (% Yes; % No)

63.136.9

47.752.3

Drink to Enhance (% Yes; % No)

57.442.6

77.822.2

CCSU’S INVOLVEMENT

Over 1500 CCSU students have participated in BARCS, giving them an opportunity to contribute to the scientific literature, and to learn about the research process

CCSU’s involvement in a nationally-funded research project increases the university’s academic and research reputation, and gains recognition for the school

The study also investigates alcohol use patterns among many CCSU students, and therefore allows us to compare our findings to data from the nation as a whole

IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY

The BARCS study is one of the few projects that assess alcohol use over a span of several years and include a large group of participants These factors make the study more sensitive to subtle,

long-term changes due to alcohol use than many others

Previous research focuses on total volume of alcohol consumed, while the BARCS study investigates the role of drinking patterns Individuals that consume a similar amount of alcohol

over time- but differ in their drinking patterns- may have distinct changes in behavioral and neurological development i.e. Compare an individual who drinks 1 drink per night, seven

nights per week and an individual who drinks 7 drinks in one night, once per week