ReviewNeuropharmacology2021
Sex differences in vulnerability to addiction.
Review in Neuropharmacology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 77 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
77 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 98 citations in OpenAlex.
- Neuroplasticity and recovery of the brain affected by substance use disorder: multilevel mechanisms and new therapeutic strategies (2020-2025).Frontiers in molecular neuroscience · 2026Pooled it
- Application of Machine Learning Models to Identify Differences in Neural Electrophysiological Properties Across Estrous Cycle Phases.Neuroinformatics · 2026Article
- Sex differences in internalising and externalising symptom patterns, pathway and persistence in adolescents receiving psychiatric care: a 2-year follow-up of the MILESTONE European cohort.BMJ mental health · 2026Article
- The role of ovarian hormones in risk aversion in female rats.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Resilience in motion: emerging perspectives on stress, substance use and youth.Neurobiology of stress · 2026Article
- Drug Use-related Problems Are Associated with Poorer Health-related Quality of Life: A Community Study of Korean Adults.Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroscience : the official scientific journal of the Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Endocrine modulation of stimulant use: bidirectional interactions within the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2026Review
- Metabolomic analysis of plasma and brain tissues in fentanyl-induced conditioned place preference mice.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Estradiol and social withdrawal in addiction: a sex-specific neuroendocrine perspective.Oxford open neuroscience · 2026Article
- Transcription factors implicated in substance use disorder, from immediate early genes to altered gene expression.Brain research · 2026Review
- The effect of neuroimmune signalling on drug addiction.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Estrogenic regulation of perineuronal nets in the mouse insular cortex and hippocampus.Neuropharmacology · 2025Article
- Drug-Specific Global Attentional Bias in Females with Drug Use Disorder: Response Slowing Under Short but Not Long Cue Exposure.Brain sciences · 2025Article
- Sex-specific dysregulation of the CXProgress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry · 2025Article
- Abnormal regional brain activity associated with relapse in early abstinent methamphetamine-dependent individuals.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Prefrontal cortex excitatory neurons show distinct response to heroin-associated cue and social stimulus after prolonged heroin abstinence in mice.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Unmasking Convergent Oxycodone Seeking and Consumption Driving Augmented Intake during Extended Access to Oral Operant Self-Administration.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Novel rat model of gaming disorder: assessment of social reward and sex differences in behavior and c-Fos brain activity.Psychopharmacology · 2025Article
- Early life stress paired with adolescent alcohol consumption reduces two-bottle choice alcohol consumption in mice.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2025Article
- The role of personality traits and life stress in alcohol use disorder: Insights from NGF gene polymorphisms of Han Chinese population in Taiwan.Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry · 2025Article
17 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
This article reviews evidence for sex differences in vulnerability to addiction with an emphasis on the neural mechanisms underlying these differences. Sex differences in the way that the gonadal hormone, estradiol, interacts with the ascending telencephalic dopamine system results in sex differences in motivated behaviors, including drug-seeking. In rodents, repeated psychostimulant exposure enhances incentive sensitization to a greater extent in females than males. Estradiol increases females' motivation to attain psychostimulants and enhances the value of drug related cues, which ultimately increases their susceptibility towards spontaneous relapse. This, along with females' dampened ability to alter decisions regarding risky behaviors, enhances their vulnerability for escalation of drug use. In males, recent evidence suggests that estradiol may be protective against susceptibility towards drug-preference. Sex differences in the actions of estradiol are reviewed to provide a foundation for understanding how future research might enhance understanding of the mechanisms of sex differences in addiction-related behaviors, which are dependent on estradiol receptor (ER) subtype and the region of the brain they are acting in. A comprehensive review of the distribution of ERα, ERβ, and GPER1 throughout the rodent brain are provided along with a discussion of the possible ways in which these patterns differentially regulate drug-taking between the sexes. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the actions of gonadal hormones on the circuitry of the stress system, including the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis and regulation of corticotropin-releasing factor. Sex differences in the stress system can also contribute to females' enhanced vulnerability towards addiction.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.