Strategies and Methods for Research on Sex Differences

Chapter 8: How Do Drugs & Hormones Influence the Brain & Behavior?

Female and male brains differ. A lot of this is due to a combination of genetic and hormonal events and they continue throughout their lifespan. A female’s reproductive status and ovarian cycle have to be taken into account when studying sex differences in health and disease susceptibility, in neuroscience, the pharmacological effects of drugs, and in the study of brain and behavior. It is important to determine that there is a sex difference in the traits of males and females, taking into consideration the reproductive cycle of the female. This article describes methods and procedures to assist scientists new to the field in designing and conducting experiments to investigate sex differences in research involving males and female’s brain and behavior due to drugs. In chapter 8 of the Introduction to Brain and Behavior it goes more in depth about the sex differences as it relates to drugs. As the article states and our book reinstates we must take in account to women’s ovarian cycle. Because of this women are more likely to abuse particular drugs and are more sensitive to drugs than men. This is due women’s body size and their hormonal differences. Basically before we are able to understand how drugs and hormones influence the brain and behavior we have to understand males and females bodily function. Only after this we can then make conclusions. Because of the potential confounding effects of stress on measures of sex differences in brain and behavior, it is highly recommended that studies of sex differences be designed with the possible impact of stress in mind.