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Review
. 2010 Jun;58(1):122-37.
doi: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2009.10.015. Epub 2009 Nov 10.

The emergence of gonadal hormone influences on dopaminergic function during puberty

Cynthia Kuhn  1 , Misha Johnson, Alex Thomae, Brooke Luo, Sidney A Simon, Guiying Zhou, Q David Walker
Affiliations
Review

The emergence of gonadal hormone influences on dopaminergic function during puberty

Cynthia Kuhn et al. Horm Behav. 2010 Jun.

Abstract

Adolescence is the developmental epoch during which children become adults-intellectually, physically, hormonally and socially. Brain development in critical areas is ongoing. Adolescents are risk-taking and novelty-seeking and they weigh positive experiences more heavily and negative experiences less than adults. This inherent behavioral bias can lead to risky behaviors like drug taking. Most drug addictions start during adolescence and early drug-taking is associated with an increased rate of drug abuse and dependence. The hormonal changes of puberty contribute to physical, emotional, intellectual and social changes during adolescence. These hormonal events do not just cause maturation of reproductive function and the emergence of secondary sex characteristics. They contribute to the appearance of sex differences in non-reproductive behaviors as well. Sex differences in drug use behaviors are among the latter. The male predominance in overall drug use appears by the end of adolescence, while girls develop the rapid progression from first use to dependence (telescoping) that represent a female-biased vulnerability. Sex differences in many behaviors including drug use have been attributed to social and cultural factors. A narrowing gap in drug use between adolescent boys and girls supports this thesis. However, some sex differences in addiction vulnerability reflect biologic differences in brain circuits involved in addiction. The purpose of this review is to summarize the contribution of sex differences in the function of ascending dopamine systems that are critical to reinforcement, to briefly summarize the behavioral, neurochemical and anatomical changes in brain dopaminergic functions related to addiction that occur during adolescence and to present new findings about the emergence of sex differences in dopaminergic function during adolescence.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
HVA:DA ratio in dorsal striatum across adolescence in male rats. N = 10-12/group. ANOVA indicate P < .01 for significant effect of age. Rats were killed, brain regions frozen and DA and metabolites assessed by HPLC.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Time course of cocaine-induced dopamine overflow in adolescent (PN28) or adult (PN65-75) male and female rats. Data show percent increase in extracellular dopamine at various times after cocaine (10 mg/kg). N = 5-9/group. ANOVA indicated P < .001 for an effect of time, p < .001 for an effect of age and p < .001 for sex × age × time. Lower level ANOVAS indicated that p< .008 for an effect of age in males but no effect of age was found in females. ANOVA conducted in adults showed that females exceeded males (p < .008).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Cocaine-stimulated dopamine overflow in female rats 1 month after prepubertal (day 25) sham or active ovariectomy. Data were collected as described in Figure 3. N = 4-5/group. ANOVA indicated P < .001 for an effect of time and p < .001 for an effect of surgery.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Cocaine-stimulated dopamine overflow in male rats 1 month after prepubertal (day 25) sham or active castration. Data were collected as described in Figure 3. N = 4-5/group. ANOVA indicated P < .001 for an effect of time and p < .001 for an effect of surgery.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive neurons in substantia nigra across postnatal age. N = 5-7/group. ANOVA indicates p < .001 for an effect of age and p < . 01 for interaction of age × gender.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Hypothetical model of how estradiol and testosterone influence the ontogeny of forebrain dopamine systems.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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