Camp D M, Robinson T E
Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109.
Behav Brain Res. 1988 Sep 1;30(1):55-68. doi: 10.1016/0166-4328(88)90008-3.
There are sex differences in a number of behavior elicited by amphetamine (AMPH). The purpose of the present experiment was to determine if there are also sex differences in the sensitization of the locomotor activity and stereotypy produced by repeated intermittent AMPH treatment, and whether this is accompanied by sex differences in dopamine (DA) metabolism. It was found that female rats showed greater and more rapid sensitization of locomotor activity and stereotyped behavior than males. In addition, prior exposure to AMPH was associated with an elevation in resting striatal dihydroxyphenlacetic acid (DOPAC) to DA ratios in female, but not male rats, suggesting a sex difference in one neurochemical correlate of sensitization. As a group, males were more variable and heterogeneous in their response to repeated AMPH treatment, because they were divisible into two neurochemically distinct subgroups on the basis of their change in behavior and females were not. This heterogeneity may make it more difficult to identify neurochemical correlates of sensitization in males. It is suggested that there is a sex difference in the responsiveness of brain DA systems to repetitive activation, and this contributes to individual variation in the susceptibility to sensitization.
苯丙胺（AMPH）引发的多种行为存在性别差异。本实验的目的是确定重复间歇性给予AMPH治疗所产生的运动活动敏化和刻板行为是否也存在性别差异，以及这是否伴随着多巴胺（DA）代谢的性别差异。结果发现，雌性大鼠比雄性大鼠表现出更大且更快速的运动活动敏化和刻板行为。此外，预先接触AMPH与雌性大鼠而非雄性大鼠纹状体中静息状态下二羟基苯乙酸（DOPAC）与DA的比值升高有关，这表明在敏化的一种神经化学相关指标上存在性别差异。作为一个群体，雄性大鼠对重复AMPH治疗的反应更具变异性和异质性，因为根据其行为变化，它们可分为两个神经化学上不同的亚组，而雌性大鼠则不然。这种异质性可能使在雄性大鼠中识别敏化的神经化学相关指标更加困难。研究表明，大脑DA系统对重复激活的反应存在性别差异，这导致了个体对敏化易感性的差异。
