Effects of sex on alcohol drinking and relapse-like behavior in self-administration trained male vs. female rats (2016)

Undergraduates: Robert Stewart, Patrick Randall, Ph.D

Faculty Advisor: Joyce Besheer, Ph.D.
Department: Biology

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Alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are regarded as major public health issues. Understanding the underlying causes of these disorders is an area of major interest. In human populations, males have been shown to be more likely than females to be heavy drinkers while females show an accelerated path to dependence. Because sex, like age and other factors, has shown the ability to affect alcohol-drinking behavior, it is important to include females in animal research in order to fully understand the role sex plays in alcohol drinking. For this experiment, we examined sex differences in alcohol self-administration and relapse-like behavior using operant self-administration techniques. No sex differences in alcohol intake were observed, though males had greater alcohol responses. Both males and females showed relapse-like behavior, with males showing greater behavior on the test. These data reflect the importance of considering sex as a biological variable.