This project explores the effects of 1 dose of Mavoglurant, an experimental non-competitive antagonist to metabotropic glutamate receptor-5 (mGlur5) developed by Novartis, in a double-blind, randomized, counterbalanced manner on alcoholism risk-relevant tasks. Drug/placebo will be administered on 2 separate visits separated by 1 week. More specifically, this project examines 4 functional MRI tasks related to different aspects of reward and/or impulsivity-related behavior in different contexts, compares the underlying neural circuitry across tasks, and uses a pharmacologic probe of the glutamatergic system to examine N-methyl-D-Aspartate and Dopamine (NMDA/DA) interactions. The combined measures provide the opportunity to advance our understanding of specific aspects of brain function related to familial alcoholism vulnerability in an already well characterized population as some members evolve into alcohol abuse. In addition, as well as conventional within-task analyses, functional network connectivity and allied approaches will be used to examine brain networks across the tasks.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of Mavoglurant in clarifying the neurobiology of alcoholism risk. This is a one-site, randomized, within subjects, counterbalanced double-blind study of a single dose (200mg) of Mavoglurant and placebo.