Quantitative analysis of pre- and postsynaptic sex differences in the nucleus accumbens

Paul M. Forlano, Catherine S. Woolley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

98 Scopus citations

Abstract

The nucleus accumbens (NAc) plays a central role in motivation and reward. While there is ample evidence for sex differences in addiction-related behaviors, little is known about the neuroanatomical substrates that underlie these sexual dimorphisms. We investigated sex differences in synaptic connectivity of the NAc by evaluating pre- and postsynaptic measures in gonadally intact male and proestrous female rats. We used Dil labeling and confocal microscopy to measure dendritic spine density, spine head size, dendritic length, and branching of medium spiny neurons (MSNs) in the NAc, and quantitative immunofluorescence to measure glutamatergic innervation using pre- (vesicular glutamate transporter 1 and 2) and postsynaptic (postsynaptic density 95) markers, as well as dopaminergic innervation of the NAc. We also utilized electron microscopy to complement the above measures. Clear but subtle sex differences were identified, namely, in distal dendritic spine density and the proportion of large spines on MSNs, both of which are greater in females. Sex differences in spine density and spine head size are evident in both the core and shell subregions, but are stronger in the core. This study is the first demonstration of neuroanatomical sex differences in the NAc and provides evidence that structural differences in synaptic connectivity and glutamatergic input may contribute to behavioral sex differences in reward and addiction.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1330-1348
Number of pages19
JournalJournal of Comparative Neurology
Volume518
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 15 2010

Keywords

  • Addiction
  • Dendritic spines
  • PSD-95
  • Reward
  • Tyrosine hydroxylase
  • VGLUT

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience

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