SynthesisBiology of sex differences2025
Preclinical and clinical sex differences in the effects of alcohol on measures of brain dopamine: a systematic review.
Synthesis in Biology of sex differences, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Chronic ethanol self-administration alters dopamine in the caudate nucleus and putamen of rhesus macaques in a sex-dependent manner.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Chronic ethanol self-administration alters dopamine in the caudate nucleus and putamen of rhesus macaques in a sex-dependent manner.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Sex-specific neural responses to smartphone cues in young adults.Biology of sex differences · 2026Article
- Acute docosahexaenoic acid administration reduces binge-like ethanol consumption and palatable substances in C57BL/6J mice.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Multimodal neuroimaging of alcohol use: from acute neurochemical effects to chronic brain network reorganization and precision treatment targets.Frontiers in neurologyReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionDopamine is involved in reward processing and plays a critical role in the development and progression of alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, little is known about the effect of sex on the relationship between dopamine and alcohol use/AUD. There is a critical need to identify the neurobiological mechanisms that contribute to sex differences in AUD to inform treatment approaches. This study aimed to review existing literature on sex differences in the effects of alcohol on brain dopamine measures in animals and individuals with heavy drinking/AUD.
methodsA systematic review was conducted using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. PubMed was searched from inception to July 23rd, 2024.
resultsOf the 1,412 articles identified, 10 met study criteria (1 human, 9 animal), including in vivo (two positron emission tomography, four microdialysis) and ex vivo (two liquid chromatography, two fast-scan cyclic voltammetry) studies. Six studies included an alcohol challenge; three showed that females had greater alcohol-induced dopamine release than males in the ventral striatum and frontal cortex, while three showed no sex-related differences. Notably, the latter three studies examined sex in a combined AUD/control group or measured dopamine levels days after alcohol exposure. Two studies that examined the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure showed that prenatal-alcohol-exposed male offspring versus sex-matched air-exposed controls had greater prefrontal cortical dopamine D
conclusionsThis systematic review showed mixed results regarding sex differences in brain dopamine measures in alcohol-exposed animals and individuals with AUD, which may arise from differences in the timing, quantity, and duration of alcohol exposure, species, conditions, models, and techniques. More research examining the effect of sex on the relationship between alcohol use and brain dopamine measures is needed to enhance our understanding of AUD development, progression, and treatment in both females and males.
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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.