Sex differences in alcohol seeking behaviors and their modulation by acute and chronic stress

The incidence of alcohol use disorders (AUDs) in women is steadily increasing. Moreover, data suggest that women progress more quickly than men from social use to dependence. Therefore, women are increasingly viewed as a vulnerable population for the development of AUDs, yet the role of sex and sex hormones on motivation for and relapse to alcohol seeking has been little studied. In addition, dysregulation of the HPA axis is associated with the development of AUDs; however, despite substantial evidence for sex differences in the stress response, the effects of stress on alcohol-motivated behaviors in females has not been extensively investigated.

Source: Alcohol - May 1, 2017 Category: Addiction Authors: Megan Bertholomey, Vidhya Nagarajan, Mary M. Torregrossa Source Type: research