Sex differences in stress-induced alcohol intake: a review of preclinical studies focused on amygdala and inflammatory pathways
Psychopharmacology. 2022-03-31; 239(7): 2041-2061
DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06120-w
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1. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2022 Jul;239(7):2041-2061. doi:
10.1007/s00213-022-06120-w. Epub 2022 Mar 31.
Sex differences in stress-induced alcohol intake: a review of preclinical studies
focused on amygdala and inflammatory pathways.
Mineur YS(#)(1), Garcia-Rivas V(#)(1), Thomas MA(#)(1), Soares AR(#)(1)(2), McKee
SA(1), Picciotto MR(3)(4).
Author information:
(1)Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, 34 Park Street, 3Rd Floor Research,
New Haven, CT, 06508, USA.
(2)Yale Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, New Haven, CT, USA.
(3)Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, 34 Park Street, 3Rd Floor Research,
New Haven, CT, 06508, USA. .
(4)Yale Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, New Haven, CT, USA.
.
(#)Contributed equally
Clinical studies suggest that women are more likely than men to relapse to
alcohol drinking in response to stress; however, the mechanisms underlying this
sex difference are not well understood. A number of preclinical behavioral models
have been used to study stress-induced alcohol intake. Here, we review paradigms
used to study effects of stress on alcohol intake in rodents, focusing on
findings relevant to sex differences. To date, studies of sex differences in
stress-induced alcohol drinking have been somewhat limited; however, there is
evidence that amygdala-centered circuits contribute to effects of stress on
alcohol seeking. In addition, we present an overview of inflammatory pathways
leading to microglial activation that may contribute to alcohol-dependent
behaviors. We propose that sex differences in neuronal function and inflammatory
signaling in circuits centered on the amygdala are involved in sex-dependent
effects on stress-induced alcohol seeking and suggest that this is an important
area for future studies.
© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany,
part of Springer Nature.
DOI: 10.1007/s00213-022-06120-w
PMID: 35359158 [Indexed for MEDLINE]