Sex Differences in Binge Alcohol-Induced Brain Damage and Recovery of Function

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dc.contributor.advisorLeasure, J. Leigh
dc.contributor.committeeMemberNeighbors, Clayton
dc.contributor.committeeMemberRoman, Gregg
dc.contributor.committeeMemberRoysam, Badrinath
dc.creatorMaynard, Mark E.
dc.creator.orcid0000-0002-3552-3317
dc.date.accessioned2018-07-10T18:50:06Z
dc.date.available2018-07-10T18:50:06Z
dc.date.createdMay 2016
dc.date.issued2016-05
dc.date.submittedMay 2016
dc.date.updated2018-07-10T18:50:06Z
dc.description.abstractEvidence suggests that women are more sensitive to the neurotoxic effects of alcohol and more vulnerable to the adverse medical consequences of heavy alcohol consumption than men. Despite this few studies have directly compared the consequences of binge alcohol between the male and female brain, and the mechanisms that underlie increased female vulnerability remain poorly understood. The present studies investigated sex differences in alcohol-induced neurodegeneration, and associated cognitive deficits and disruption of trophic support, using a rodent model of an alcohol use disorder (AUD). Binge exposure resulted in a significant loss of granule neurons and significantly more degenerating and dead cells in the hippocampal dentate gyrus of females compared to males. This was associated with a binge-induced spatial reference memory deficits in the Morris water maze for females but not males. Binge-induced neurodegeneration in the female hippocampus was associated with a decrease of BDNF, TrkB, CREB, and pCREB protein expression; however only BDNF was disrupted in the hippocampus of males. Further, we investigated if exercise-driven recovery from binge-induced neurodegeneration was associated with increased trophic support. One to two weeks of voluntary exercise reversed the binge-induced reduction of dentate gyrus granule neurons in females, likely via an increase in BDNF, pCREB, and Iba1 (microglia). We conclude that the female hippocampus is more sensitive to binge-induced neurodegeneration and associated cognitive consequences than males, like due to the disruption of protective tropic support. Voluntary exercise however, can enhance endogenous recovery processes by increasing trophic support that aids in recovery.
dc.description.departmentPsychology, Department of
dc.format.digitalOriginborn digital
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10657/3196
dc.language.isoeng
dc.rightsThe author of this work is the copyright owner. UH Libraries and the Texas Digital Library have their permission to store and provide access to this work. Further transmission, reproduction, or presentation of this work is prohibited except with permission of the author(s).
dc.subjectAlcohol
dc.subjectBinge drinking
dc.subjectSex differences
dc.subjectNeurodegeneration
dc.subjectNeurosciences
dc.subjectCognitive deficits
dc.subjectTrophic support
dc.subjectExercise
dc.subjectNeurorestoration
dc.subjectNeuropsychology
dc.subjectNeurosciences
dc.titleSex Differences in Binge Alcohol-Induced Brain Damage and Recovery of Function
dc.type.dcmiText
dc.type.genreThesis
thesis.degree.collegeCollege of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
thesis.degree.departmentPsychology, Department of
thesis.degree.disciplinePsychology, Developmental
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Houston
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy

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