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Access Type
WSU Access
Date of Award
January 2025
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Department
Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences
First Advisor
Shane A. Perrine
Abstract
Cocaine use and relapse drive increased morbidity and mortality, and elucidating the mechanisms underlying these complex behavioral phenomena is necessary for improved treatment of Cocaine Use Disorder. Individual differences, including sex and gender, impact use patters and treatment outcomes, and preclinical research suggests a strong role of biological sex on cocaine use and relapse-like behavior. However, the neurobiological mechanisms that underlie these behavioral differences remain incompletely understood. Therefore, this dissertation used models of cocaine use and relapse-like behavior to investigate whether sex differences exist in two factors relevant to cocaine behaviors: neuronal ensembles in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and food-restriction. As described in Chapter 2, I replicated previously reported behavioral sex differences in cocaine-induced hyperlocomotion, cocaine self-administration, and cocaine-seeking, but found little evidence of an impact of sex on neuronal ensembles in the NAc. As detailed in Chapter 3, I found that food-restriction sex-dependently affects cocaine-induced body weight reduction, self-administration, and cocaine-seeking. These findings emphasize the role of biological sex in cocaine use and warrant further investigation into the mechanisms that drive sex-based differences. This work, which builds upon decades of translational research, aims to inform the treatment of Cocaine Use Disorder and aid in the development of a precision medicine approach to treat substance use.
Recommended Citation
Mascarin, Alixandria Taylor, "Modeling Cocaine Use And Relapse: A Focus On Sex Differences In Behavioral And Neurobiological Responses" (2025). Wayne State University Dissertations. 4209.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/4209