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Final paper proposal

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I am going to write my final paper on the sex differences of addiction in rodent models. Differences in symptoms and experiences between biological sexes is the part of neuroscience (and medicine) that I find most fascinating. In humans, it is difficult and almost impossible to attribute certain sex differences we see between males and females to nature or nurture. Although is generally accepted that many characteristics, particularly relating to neuroscience and psychiatric disorders, are due to a combination of nature and nurture, the distinction can be more easily facilitated by studying rodents in a controlled environment. On a similar note, mental disorders like addition are unfortunately still regarded with a certain amount of stigma. Studying addition in animal models works to lesson that stigma and prove that addiction has real, tangible, biological signs and symptoms. I am particularly interested if male versus female rodents are more susceptible to addictive behaviors, how their symptoms compare, and how efficacy of different treatment compares. Additionally, I would like to write about how pre and post natal conditions affect the susceptibility for addictive behaviors later on in life. Below are 5 sources that I will use to ground my paper and show what research exists on the topic. I am currently in the process of exploring the field for more relevant studies I can point to, specifically relating to how pre and post natal conditions link to addiction susceptibility. 

Lynch, W. J., Nicholson, K. L., Dance, M. E., Morgan, R. W., & Foley, P. L. (2010). Animal models of substance abuse and addiction: implications for science, animal welfare, and society. Comparative medicine, 60(3), 177–188. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2890392/

Becker, J. B., McClellan, M. L., & Reed, B. G. (2017). Sex differences, gender and addiction. Journal of neuroscience research, 95(1-2), 136–147. https://doi.org/10.1002/jnr.23963
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5120656/

Barbier, Estelle, et al. “Long-Term Alterations in Vulnerability to Addiction to Drugs of Abuse and in Brain Gene Expression after Early Life Ethanol Exposure.” Neuropharmacology, Pergamon, 31 July 2008, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0028390808003158.

Alati, Rosa. “In Utero Alcohol Exposure and Prediction of Alcohol Disorders in Early Adulthood.” Archives of General Psychiatry, American Medical Association, 1 Sept. 2006, jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/668214. 

Quinones-Jenab , Vanya, and Shirzad Jenab. Influence of Sex Differences and Gonadal Hormones on Cocaine Addiction. 2012, https://academic.oup.com/ilarjournal/article/53/1/14/65606.

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