Abstract
Impairments in choosing optimally between immediate and delayed rewards are associated with numerous psychiatric disorders. Such 'intertemporal' choice is influenced by genetic and experiential factors; however, the contributions of biological sex are understudied and data to date are largely inconclusive. Rats were used to determine how sex and gonadal hormones influence choices between small, immediate and large, delayed rewards. Females showed markedly greater preference than males for small, immediate over large, delayed rewards (greater impulsive choice). This difference was neither due to differences in food motivation or reward magnitude perception, nor was it affected by estrous cycle. Ovariectomies did not affect choice in females, whereas orchiectomies increased impulsive choice in males. These data show that male rats exhibit less impulsive choice than females and that this difference is at least partly maintained by testicular hormones. These differences in impulsive choice could be linked to gender differences across multiple neuropsychiatric conditions.
Highlights
Pronounced sex differences are evident in a range of neuropsychiatric disorders, but the underlying biological and behavioral phenotypes that contribute to such differences remain poorly understood
The effects of sex on intertemporal choice were initially evaluated in naıve male and female rats
The current study used a rat model to explicitly evaluate the contributions of sex and gonadal hormones to intertemporal choice behavior
Summary
Pronounced sex differences are evident in a range of neuropsychiatric disorders, but the underlying biological and behavioral phenotypes that contribute to such differences remain poorly understood. One aspect of behavior that associates with many neuropsychiatric conditions is intertemporal decision making (Heerey et al, 2007; Bickel et al, 2012; Bickel et al, 2014; Steinglass et al, 2012; Wilbertz et al, 2013; Hoptman, 2015; Steward et al, 2017), which involves choices between small rewards delivered immediately and larger rewards delivered in the future. An inability to forgo immediate rewards in favor of larger rewards delivered in the future, or greater ‘impulsive choice’, associates with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Wilbertz et al, 2013) and substance use disorders (Bickel et al, 2012; Bickel et al, 2014). The prevalence of these conditions is sexbiased, with males exhibiting higher rates of ‘impulsive’ disorders (e.g., substance use, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and females exhibiting disproportionate rates of anorexia nervosa (Rolls et al, 1991; Becker et al, 2017)
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