Sex differences in sensitivity to dopamine receptor manipulations of risk-based decision making in rats
From NPP BrainPod by Springer Nature
January 15, 2025 · 10 min
About this episode
The episode discusses sex differences in risk aversion related to dopamine receptor activity in the basal lateral amygdala of rats.
The scientific literature has shown that females demonstrate more aversion to risk-taking than males. Studies have also demonstrated that the basal lateral amygdala, or BLA, is a critical hub for processing risk and reward information. And yet further research has shown that activity in the amygdala differs between males and females, and that the expression of particular dopamine receptors called D2 receptors are greater in females than in males. The authors hypothesized that one mediating mechanism that leads to greater risk aversion in females is differential activity of dopamine in the basal lateral amygdala. Caitlin Orsini is an assistant professor in the departments of psychology and neurology at UT Austin. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Guest: Caitlin Orsini
Topics covered
- dopamine receptors
- risk-based decision making
- sex differences
- basal lateral amygdala
- neuroscience
Keywords
- dopamine
- risk aversion
- sex differences
- amygdala
- D2 receptors
- neuroscience
- rats
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: UT Austin, Springer Nature
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