Research

Maturing Out of Problem Alcohol Use

A key area of ongoing work is investigating how brain-based markers can be used to predict substance use initiation and substance use trajectories. In this study, we use structural and functional neuroimaging to identify predictors of change in alcohol use in young adults. After a baseline neuroimaging scan, our participants report on their alcohol use every three months for up to 3 years. This allows us to model alcohol use trajectories across time and use neuroimaging data to determine if there are brain differences in individuals who naturally desist in alcohol use (maturing out) or continue using alcohol at the same or even higher rates. 

Sex Differences

Another area of ongoing work is examining how sex differences contribute to the risk for substance use disorders and the neural mechanisms mediating these sex differences. Our prior work using data from the Michigan Longitudinal Study has shown developmental differences in the functional brain response of at-risk adolescent boys and girls to negative emotional stimuli. These neural distinctions may underlie sex differences in behavioral risk trajectories for substance use disorders, such as vulnerability to internalizing disorders (i.e., depression and anxiety) in adolescent girls. Pubertal timing also plays a role in risk for substance use. We have also examined sex differences in error-related brain activation in college students with a history of binge drinking during a go/no-go task. Young adult men had significantly greater error-related neural activation across a broad network of brain regions associated with error-monitoring and other salient events. Men also reported significantly greater substance use; however, substance use did not significantly predict neural activation, suggesting men may have a more marked neural response to errors. 

Pre/Post Intervention Changes

Due to the high occurrence of heavy drinking by college students, many campuses have implemented alcohol prevention programs that include brief interventions. Brief interventions are shown to be successful in reducing both alcohol consumption and its related consequences. We are examining neuroimaging and self-report alcohol use data collected before and after undergraduates have received a brief intervention to determine if there are parallel changes in brain function. 

Social Anxiety and Alcohol Use

Social anxiety is highly prevalent in college students, many of whom use alcohol to reduce anxious feelings in social settings. Drinking to cope with social anxiety can lead to risky alcohol use and subsequent alcohol use disorders. While links between social anxiety and risky alcohol use in college are well documented, the specifics of this relationship are mixed and likely complex. Impulsivity may play a critical role in enhancing vulnerability for risky drinking in individuals with social anxiety. In collaboration with the Duval Lab, we are examining how social anxiety and impulsivity interact to predict alcohol use in undergraduates. 

Collaborators

The Hardee Lab is part of the larger Brain, Development, and Adolescent (BDA) Lab, a collaboration between multiple PIs—Drs. Lora Cope, Mary Heitzeg, Omid Kardan, Meghan Martz, Katie McCurry, and Alex Weigard—and their individual labs.  We also frequently collaborate with other colleagues in the Department of Psychiatry, including Drs. Elizabeth Duval, Brian Hicks, Chandra Sripada, and colleagues outside of the University of Michigan, including Dr. Sarah Yip (Yale University). 

Funding

Current

Recent