Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Oct:23:98-102.
doi: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2018.04.009. Epub 2018 May 3.

Sex differences in motivated behaviors in animal models

Zhimin Song  1 , Manu Kalyani  1 , Jill B Becker  1   2
Affiliations

Sex differences in motivated behaviors in animal models

Zhimin Song et al. Curr Opin Behav Sci. 2018 Oct.

Abstract

Sex differences exist in the motivation for sexual behavior, food, parental care and motivation to take drugs. There are also sex differences in the likelihood of exhibiting motivational disorders such as anhedonia, depression, addictive behavior, and eating disorders. This brief review summaries recent studies on sex differences in all motivated behaviors in social and non-social contexts, focusing on animal models. We also discuss the roles of gonadal hormones and the nonapeptides (nine amino acid peptides) in modulating sex differences in motivation. We propose that sex differences in the neural mechanisms mediating endogenous motivation for food, sex, partners and care of offspring underlie sex differences in all motivated behaviors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Major interactions between oxytocin and dopamine in a rodent brain. (From [50] with permission)
NA, nucleus accumbens; ZI, zona incerta; MPOA, medial preoptic nucleus; PVN, paraventricular nucleus; SON, supraoptic nucleus; AMG, amygdala; VTA, ventral tegmental area; HC, hippocampus; PFC, prefrontal cortex; OB, olfatory bulbs; SC, spinal cord.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Becker JB, Koob GF. Sex Differences in Animal Models: Focus on Addiction. Pharmacol Rev. 2016;68(2):242–63. In this review the authors illustrate the four different types of sex differences as an excellent guideline for research investigators when conducting studies on sex differences. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Becker JB. Sexual differentiation of motivation: a novel mechanism? Horm Behav. 2009;55(5):646–54. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Becker JB, Taylor JR. Sex differences in motivation. In: Becker JB, Berkley K, Geary N, Hampson E, Herman JP, Young EA, editors. Sex Differences in the Brain: from Genes to Behavior. Oxford University Press; Oxford, UK: 2008. pp. 177–199.
    1. Everitt BJ, et al. Studies of instrumental behavior with sexual reinforcement in male rats (Rattus norvegicus): I. Control by brief visual stimuli paired with a receptive female. J Comp Psychol. 1987;101(4):395–406. - PubMed
    1. Prince KN, et al. Effects of sexual behavioral manipulation on brain plasticity in adult rats. Brain Res Bull. 1998;47(4):349–55. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources