Sex Differences in Animal Models of Opioid Reward.

Purpose Of Review: This review aims to discuss sex differences observed in preclinical rodent models of opioid reward.

Recent Findings: Utilizing a variety of methodological approaches and drug regimens, no clear consensus has emerged regarding the effects of opiates between males and females. This is quite dissimilar to work examining psychostimulants, where female animals reliably exhibit stronger behavioral responses.

Caveolin-1 regulates medium spiny neuron structural and functional plasticity.

Rationale: Caveolin-1 (CAV1) is a structural protein critical for spatial organization of neuronal signaling molecules. Whether CAV1 is required for long-lasting neuronal plasticity remains unknown.

Objective And Methods: We sought to examine the effects of CAV1 knockout (KO) on functional plasticity and hypothesized that CAV1 deficiency would impact drug-induced long-term plasticity in the nucleus accumbens (NAc).