Cited by 725Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorSex and Gender in HealthcarePrenatal Substance Exposure Effects

Sex Differences in Animal Models: Focus on Addiction

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Becker, Jill B., Koob, George F.·2016·Pharmacological Reviews

Abstract

The purpose of this review is to discuss ways to think about and study sex differences in preclinical animal models. We use the framework of addiction, in which animal models have excellent face and construct validity, to illustrate the importance of considering sex differences. There are four types of sex differences: qualitative, quantitative, population, and mechanistic. A better understanding of the ways males and females can differ will help scientists design experiments to characterize better the presence or absence of sex differences in new phenomena that they are investigating. We have outlined major quantitative, population, and mechanistic sex differences in the addiction domain using a heuristic framework of the three established stages of the addiction cycle: binge/intoxication, withdrawal/negative affect, and preoccupation/anticipation. Female rats, in general, acquire the self-administration of drugs and alcohol more rapidly, escalate their drug taking with extended access more rapidly, show more motivational withdrawal, and (where tested in animal models of "craving") show greater reinstatement. The one exception is that female rats show less motivational withdrawal to alcohol. The bases for these quantitative sex differences appear to be both organizational, in that estradiol-treated neonatal animals show the male phenotype, and activational, in that the female phenotype depends on the effects of gonadal hormones. In animals, differences within the estrous cycle can be observed but are relatively minor. Such hormonal effects seem to be most prevalent during the acquisition of drug taking and less influential once compulsive drug taking is established and are linked largely to progesterone and estradiol. This review emphasizes not only significant differences in the phenotypes of females and males in the domain of addiction but emphasizes the paucity of data to date in our understanding of those differences.

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Crossref · 10.1124/pr.115.011163

Cites

225 of 225 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • The faster addiction in female rodents is due to greater activation of the reward circuit.

    “Female rodents become addicted faster than males and this is believed to be due to a greater activation of the reward circuit (Becker & Koob, 2016).”

    From Developmental origins of sex differences in the neural circuitry of play (2020) · cites this paper as Becker & Koob, 2016

    The Animal Models section supports the faster progression to addictive-like behavior in female rats. But the Sex Differences in Addiction section suggests the opposite of the proposed mechanism: a lower cocaine-induced dopamine response in the nucleus accumbens may contribute to their greater addiction-like behavior. The review does not attribute that progression to greater reward-circuit activation. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • For alcohol, women are more likely than men to experience blackouts, liver inflammation, brain atrophy, cognitive deficits, certain cancers, negative affect during withdrawal, and stress- or anxiety-induced relapse.

    “For alcohol, women are more likely to experience blackouts, liver inflammation, brain atrophy, cognitive deficits, certain cancers, negative affect during withdrawal, and stress-or anxiety-induced relapse (Becker and Koob, 2016).”

    From Drug Addiction: Hyperkatifeia/Negative Reinforcement as a Framework for Medications Development (2021) · cites this paper as Becker and Koob, 2016

    The Withdrawal/Negative Affect section (page not available) reports more rapid alcoholic liver disease and neurotoxicity in women, while the Preoccupation/Anticipation section reports greater stress-induced relapse risk for women with alcohol use. The copy does not establish the specific claims about blackouts, liver inflammation, brain atrophy, cognitive deficits, or cancers. Its evidence about longer-lasting negative affect concerns adolescent girls after heavy drinking, not specifically withdrawal; it also does not establish anxiety-induced relapse separately from stress-induced relapse. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Female rodents become addicted faster than males.

    “Female rodents become addicted faster than males and this is believed to be due to a greater activation of the reward circuit (Becker & Koob, 2016).”

    From Developmental origins of sex differences in the neural circuitry of play (2020) · cites this paper as Becker & Koob, 2016

    The “2. Animal Models” section says female rats progress to cocaine-related addictive-like behavior more rapidly than males, supporting the claim for that drug and model. The sentence’s proposed explanation is not supported: “IV. Sex Differences in the Neurobiology of Addiction” reports a lower cocaine-induced dopamine increase in the nucleus accumbens in females, rather than greater activation of that reward-related response. No page numbers were provided in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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  • Female rodents drink more alcohol than males.

    “Female rodents also drink more alcohol than males (Eriksson and Pikkarainen, 1968;Becker and Koob, 2016).”
  • Little work has focused on preclinical studies of gender differences in animal models of hyperkatifeia and negative reinforcement with opioids.

    “To date, little work has focused on preclinical studies of gender differences in animal models of hyperkatifeia and negative reinforcement with opioids (Becker and Koob, 2016).”

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Cites

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1 of the 226 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Purdy RH, Moore PH Jr, Morrow AL, and Paul SM (1991) The 3a-hydroxy ring-A reduced metabolites of progesterone and deoxycortisone: natural ligands of central GABA A receptors, in Neurosteroids and Brain Function (Costa E and Paul SM, eds) pp 95-101, Thieme Medical, New York.
  2. Roth ME, Cosgrove KP, and Carroll ME (2004) Sex differences in the vulnerability to drug abuse: a review of preclinical studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 28:533-546.
  3. Shippenberg TS and Koob GF (2002) Recent advances in animal models of drug addiction and alcoholism, in Neuropsychopharmacology: The Fifth Generation of Progress (Davis KL, Charney D, Coyle JT, and Nemeroff C, eds) pp 1381-1397, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia.

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Authors
Becker, J. B., & Koob, G. F.
Affiliations
National Institutes of Health (US)
Venue
Pharmacological Reviews
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2016-04
Volume
68
Issue
2
Pages
242-263
ISSN
0031-6997 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2286968510
Cited by
725
References
226
Citations by year
2026: 60 · 2025: 59 · 2024: 74 · 2023: 86 · 2022: 87 · 2021: 83 · 2020: 72 · 2019: 61 · 2018: 53 · 2017: 57 · 2016: 31 · 2015: 1
FWCI
7.37
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Pharmacological Reviews (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (5r21da032747-02)
  • National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
  • National Institute on Drug Abuse (R21-DA-032747, 5R21DA032747)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Sex and Gender in Healthcare
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects
Keywords
sex differences, addiction, preclinical animal models, self-administration, alcohol self-administration, craving, reinstatement, estradiol, progesterone, gonadal hormones, estrous cycle, binge drinking, female rats
MeSH terms
Animals, Disease Models, Animal, Humans, Sex Characteristics, Substance-Related Disorders

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