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Sex differences in hippocampal damage, cognitive impairment, and trophic factor expression in an animal model of an alcohol use disorder

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Abstract

Compared to men, women disproportionally experience alcohol-related organ damage, including brain damage, and while men remain more likely to drink and to drink heavily, there is cause for concern because women are beginning to narrow the gender gap in alcohol use disorders. The hippocampus is a brain region that is particularly vulnerable to alcohol damage, due to cell loss and decreased neurogenesis. In the present study, we examined sex differences in hippocampal damage following binge alcohol. Consistent with our prior findings, we found a significant binge-induced decrement in dentate gyrus (DG) granule neurons in the female DG. However, in the present study, we found no significant decrement in granule neurons in the male DG. We show that the decrease in granule neurons in females is associated with both spatial navigation impairments and decreased expression of trophic support molecules. Finally, we show that post-binge exercise is associated with an increase in trophic support and repopulation of the granule neuron layer in the female hippocampus. We conclude that sex differences in alcohol-induced hippocampal damage are due in part to a paucity of trophic support and plasticity-related signaling in females.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism R21 AA 021260. We thank Dr. Shaefali Rodgers for a critical reading of the manuscript.

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  1. Mark E. Maynard

    Present address: Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Texas Health Science Center, PO Box 20708, Houston, TX, 77225-0708, USA

  2. Caleb R. Robinson

    Present address: Department of Biology, Eastern Nazarene College, 23 E Elm Ave, Shrader Hall 30B, Quincy, MA, 02170, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77204-5022, USA

    Mark E. Maynard, Emily A. Barton, Caleb R. Robinson, Jessica I. Wooden & J. Leigh Leasure

  2. Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, Houston, TX, 77204-5022, USA

    J. Leigh Leasure

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  1. Mark E. Maynard
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Correspondence to J. Leigh Leasure.

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This study was supported by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism R21 AA 021260.

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Maynard, M.E., Barton, E.A., Robinson, C.R. et al. Sex differences in hippocampal damage, cognitive impairment, and trophic factor expression in an animal model of an alcohol use disorder. Brain Struct Funct 223, 195–210 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00429-017-1482-3

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