Gender differences in ethanol preference and ingestion in rats. The role of the gonadal steroid environment.

Abstract

An ethanol oral self administration paradigm showed the existence of gender differences in alcohol preference in rats: whereas males and females initiated alcohol drinking at similar rates, females maintained their preference for ethanol over a longer duration. Neonatal estrogenization of females, which effectively confers a male phenotype on a genetically female brain, resulted in patterns of drinking that were similar to those displayed by intact male rats, indicating that gender differences in alcohol drinking patterns may be, at least partially, accounted for by sexual differentiation of the brain. To test whether gonadal steroids also exert activational effects on ethanol-seeking behavior, we also examined the effects of gonadectomy alone, or in combination with gonadal steroid replacement therapy. Castration did not significantly alter ethanol consumption in males, although treatment of castrated rats with dihydrotestosterone resulted in a significant inhibition of this parameter. As compared with the situation in intact female rats, ethanol ingestion was significantly reduced in ovariectomized female rats receiving estradiol (E2) and in ovariectomized female rats receiving combined E2 and progesterone replacement therapy. However, neither ovariectomy nor progesterone replacement in ovariectomized rats resulted in ethanol drinking patterns that were different compared to those observed in intact female controls. Thus, dihydrotestosterone and E2, respectively, appear to exert modulatory influences on the male and female rats' preference for ethanol, but further investigations are necessary to determine to what extent these effects result from activational actions on the brain.

Dissociable effects of ethanol consumption during the light and dark phase in adolescent and adult Wistar rats

“…These results are also consistent with previous reports of female versus male ethanol consumption during long-access sessions (Adams, 1995;Almeida et al, 1998;Juarez and de Tomasi, 1999;Lancaster et al, 1996;Lancaster and Spiegel, 1992). The increased consumption of ethanol observed in the present study could be attributable to sex differences in the rate of ethanol elimination.…”

Alcohol Self-administration in Two Rat Lines Selectively Bred for Extremes in Anxiety-related Behavior

“…The lack of significance might be due to a floor effect, as both male HAB and LAB rats consumed significantly less ethanol than females. The phenomenon of a gender-specific difference in ethanol consumption, female rats consuming more than males, has been repeatedly shown in earlier studies (Almeida et al 1998;Adams et al 1991;Adams 1995;Li and Lumeng 1984).…”

The Effects of Proximal and Distal Social Stimulation on Ethanol Intake in Male and Female CD-1 Mice

“…This pattern of sex differences in ethanol drinking is consistent with studies reporting that isolation-housed female mice and rats produced elevated ethanol intake relative to isolation-housed male mice and rats [31,32,33,34,35,36]. The present results add to a growing body of literature indicating that these sex differences are not specific to drinking ethanol in isolation [14,15]; see also [31].…”