Alcohol preference, behavioural reactivity and cognitive functioning in female rats exposed to a three-bottle choice paradigm

Effect of combined administration of aripiprazole and fluoxetine on cognitive functions in female rats exposed to ethyl alcohol

“…This corroborates with reports of some authors who also failed to observe any statistically significant differences in this respect (Cacace et al 2012).…”

Sex differences in adult Wistar rats in the voluntary consumption of ethanol after pre-exposure to ethanol-induced flavor avoidance learning

“…These data can be compared with the findings of Cacace et al (2012) in which female rats, which had shown high levels of preference for and intake of ethanol (greater than that of males), decreased intake in the final weeks of ethanol exposure, matching at that point the levels exhibited by the males. It seems therefore that female rats, perhaps to a greater extent than males, are able to self-regulate their alcohol consumption by the onset of internal stimuli, probably avoiding the harmful effects of ethanol.…”

“…Conversely, ethanol-naive female rats show higher levels of intake and preference for ethanol than both the pre-exposed (IP ethanol injection) females and the naive males. Sex differences in ethanol intake are well documented in rodents, with intake in non-experienced females being higher than that in males (e.g., Cacace et al, 2012;Caihol and Mormede, 2002;Chester et al, 2006, Doremus et al, 2005Lancaster et al, 1996;Vetter-O'Hagen et al, 2009;Yoneyama et al, 2008), although it remains unknown to what extent the differences in the relative rewarding and/or aversive effects of ethanol mediate the reported sex differences in voluntary ethanol consumption.…”

“…In fact, sex differences exist in behavior maintained by non-drug rewards (reinforcement; i.e., Cacace et al, 2012;see Carroll et al, 2004 for a review). According to Carroll et al (2004), there are many similarities in the sex differences observed with drugs of abuse and other pathways to hedonic states, such as the ingestion of sweets, in which female rats consume more sweetened liquids than males (Klebaur et al, 2001); conditioned place preference (CPP), in which female rats acquire drug-induced CPP in fewer sessions and at lower doses than males (Randall et al, 1998;Russo et al, 2003); and locomotor activity (females move and explore more than males, which indicates a higher vulnerability to self-administration of psychostimulants; Tropp and Markus, 2001).…”

“…These differences have been observed in nonconsanguine rats (i.e., Lancaster et al, 1996), as well as in rats genetically selected for their high or low ethanol consumption levels (i.e., Le et al, 2001;Chester et al, 2006). Furthermore, these differences between males and females have been observed using various methods, not only 24 h access to ethanol (Cacace et al, 2011(Cacace et al, , 2012Doremus et al, 2005;Yoneyama et al, 2008), but also limited access to ethanol with access to two bottles (Le et al, 2001;Vetter-O'Hagen et al, 2009), and with operant self-administration models (Blanchard et al, 1993;Blanchard and Glick, 1995). Vetter-O'Hagen et al (2009), using a 2 h limited-access to ethanol model, found that the ethanol consumed varied as a function of sex and age, although the sex differences that emerged at each age were opposites: adolescent males consumed more ethanol than both the adolescent and adult females, while in adulthood, echoing the data in the previous paragraph, the females consumed more ethanol than the males.…”