Sex differences in animal models of decision making

The ability to weigh the costs and benefits of various options to make an adaptive decision is critical to an organism's survival and wellbeing. Many psychiatric diseases are characterized by maladaptive decision making, indicating a need for better understanding of the mechanisms underlying th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of neuroscience research Vol. 95; no. 1-2; pp. 260 - 269
Main Authors Orsini, Caitlin A., Setlow, Barry
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.01.2017
Subjects
Animal models
Animals
Behavior, Animal
Cost benefit analysis
Decision making
Decision Making - physiology
Decision theory
delay discounting
dopamine
Gender aspects
Gender differences
intertemporal choice
Mental disorders
Models, Animal
probability
risk
Sex
Sex Characteristics
Sex differences
intertemporal choice
risk
dopamine
probability
delay discounting
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Summary:The ability to weigh the costs and benefits of various options to make an adaptive decision is critical to an organism's survival and wellbeing. Many psychiatric diseases are characterized by maladaptive decision making, indicating a need for better understanding of the mechanisms underlying this process and the ways in which it is altered under pathological conditions. Great strides have been made in uncovering these mechanisms, but the majority of what is known comes from studies conducted solely in male subjects. In recent years, decision‐making research has begun to include female subjects to determine whether sex differences exist and to identify the mechanisms that contribute to such differences. This Mini‐Review begins by describing studies that have examined sex differences in animal (largely rodent) models of decision making. Possible explanations, both theoretical and biological, for such differences in decision making are then considered. The Mini‐Review concludes with a discussion of the implications of sex differences in decision making for understanding psychiatric conditions. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Bibliography:SIGNIFICANCE: Many psychiatric diseases affect one sex to a greater extent than the other. A common feature across these diseases is that decision‐making abilities are impaired. Thus, sex differences in decision making may contribute to the differential development or presentation of psychiatric diseases. This Mini‐Review discusses what is currently known about sex differences in animal models of decision making and considers possible explanations for such differences. The Mini‐Review concludes by highlighting the requirement for inclusion of both male and female subjects to ensure that future scientific discoveries can be more readily translated to all human beings.
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ISSN:0360-4012
1097-4547
DOI:10.1002/jnr.23810