Journal
HARVARD REVIEW OF PSYCHIATRY
Volume 17, Issue 2, Pages 103-119Publisher
LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS
DOI: 10.1080/10673220902899680
Keywords
gender; stress; substance abuse
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Funding
- NCRR NIH HHS [M01 RR000125, M01 RR000125-41S11085] Funding Source: Medline
- NIDA NIH HHS [K02 DA017232, P50 DA016556, K02 DA017232-05, P50 DA016556-079001] Funding Source: Medline
- NATIONAL CENTER FOR RESEARCH RESOURCES [M01RR000125] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE [K02DA017232, P50DA016556] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
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Extensive research indicates that chronic substance abuse disrupts stress and reward systems of the brain. Gender variation within these stress-system alterations, including the impact of sex hormones on these changes, may influence sex-specific differences in both the development of, and recovery from, dependency. As such, gender variations in stress-system function may also provide a viable explanation for why women are markedly more vulnerable than men to the negative consequences of drug use. This article therefore initially reviews studies that have examined gender differences in emotional and biophysiological changes to the stress and reward system following the acute administration of drugs, including cocaine, alcohol, and nicotine. The article then reviews studies that have examined gender differences in response to various types of stress in both healthy and drug-abusing populations. Studies examining the impact of sex hormones on these gender-related responses are also reported. The implications of these sex-specific variations in stress and reward system function are discussed in terms of both comorbid psychopathology and treatment outcome.
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