Estrogen enhances ethanol and dopamine effects on ventral tegmental neurons from female mice

Gender differences in alcohol use disorder may be modulated by steroid hormones such as estrogen. Estradiol, the predominant circulating form of estrogen in pre-menopausal females, increases binge-like drinking and enhances ethanol conditioned place preference in mice, suggesting that estradiol affects the rewarding properties of ethanol. The ventral tegmental area (VTA) is involved in reward and reinforcement in addiction. To determine whether estrogen affects VTA neuronal physiology, freely cycling female and ovariectomized (OVX) mice supplemented with estradiol benzoate (EB) were used for brain slice electrophysiological studies.
Source: Alcohol - Category: Addiction Authors: Source Type: research