Gender differences in animal studies. Implications for the study of human alcoholism

The reasons for gender differences in alcohol intake, responses to alcohol, and consequences of alcohol abuse in humans and in animals are poorly understood. Animal models for the study of alcoholism have been focused primarily on the study of male rodents, although researchers have observed that female rodents drink more alcohol than males and have sex-related differences in drinking patterns and responses to alcohol. In humans, the difference between the sexes is the opposite of rodents, with males drinking more than females. These results suggest differences between the sexes and differences between humans and rodents in drinking behavior and responses to alcohol which may be based on a complex interaction of social, genetic, hormonal, neurobiologic, and environmental factors. Four new studies are introduced to identify sex-distinct genetic influences in alcohol-related phenotypes, sex-based differences in behavioral responses to alcohol, sex differences in responses of brain reward systems to alcohol, and interactions of the anxiolytic effects of alcohol with steroids and the estrous cycle.