Description
Men and women differ with regard to their use of, and responses to, methamphetamine (MA). Analogous sex differences with regard to MA are observed in animal models. In this report, data from a series of experiments that focus upon dopamine transporter (DAT) and vesicular monoamine transporter2 (VMAT2) function are reviewed by way of providing some understanding for these sex differences to MA. The amount of dopamine (DA) recovered after infusion of DA into superfused striatal tissue was greater in females and an accentuated amount of extracellular DA was obtained from females after infusion of the DAT-blocking drug, nomifensine. These data suggest a higher level of DAT activity in females. To evaluate the implications of this sex difference in DAT function as related to MA, the amount of DA evoked by an infusion of MA into superfused striatal tissue was tested and found to be significantly greater in males. In contrast, potassium chloride-stimulated DA release was greater in females. The results of these
Subject
3; 4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid/metabolism; Adrenergic Uptake Inhibitors/metabolism; Animal/drug effects; Animals; Behavior; Behavior/drug effects; Corpus Striatum/metabolism; Dopamine Agents/pharmacology; Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins/*metabolism; Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors/metabolism; Female; Humans; Male; Methamphetamine/pharmacology; Mice; Nomifensine/metabolism; Reserpine/metabolism; Sex Factors; Vesicular Monoamine Transport Proteins/*metabolism