UF Neuroscientists Find Sex Hormones May Influence Risk Taking, Impulsivity in Rats

New research by University of Florida neuroscientists suggests that male and female sex hormones may play differing roles in risk-taking inclinations and the ability to delay gratification.

The findings from two separate rodent-model studies, reported in the journals Neuropsychopharmacology and eLife, could provide useful insight for the development of future treatment approaches for psychiatric conditions such as substance use disorders, the researchers said.

“The work in these two papers shows that impulsivity and risk-taking are regulated differently in males and females,” Setlow said. “This suggests in turn that approaches to treatment — for example, reducing impulsivity or risk-taking in substance use disorders — could differ in men and women.”

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