PTSD and alcohol abuse go hand-in-hand, but males and females exhibit symptoms differently In rodent experiments modeled to mimic real-life circumstances, scientists revealed brain mechanisms that could lead to targeted treatments.
October 23, 2020
LA JOLLA, CA Through intricate experiments designed to account for sex-specific differences, scientists at Scripps Research have collaborated to zero-in on certain changes in the brain that may be responsible for driving alcohol abuse among people with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
In studies with rodents, researchers found that males and females exhibit their own distinct symptoms and brain features of PTSD and alcohol use disorder. Such differences are not typically accounted for in laboratory-based studies yet could lead to more successful clinical treatments.
The findings, published in Molecular Psychiatry, also present a new model for identifying biomarkers that may indicate a person with PTSD is more likely to develop alcohol use disorder.
Having PTSD significantly increases the risk of developing alcohol use disorder, as individuals use alcohol to cope with stress and anxiety. Yet the underlying biology of comorbid disorders is generally not well understood, says Dean Kirson, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in neurophysiology in the lab of professor Marisa Roberto, PhD, and a co-lead author with Michael Steinman, PhD. We hope our new knowledge of sex-specific changes in the brain will help propel the development of more targeted treatments.
About 7 percent to 8 percent of the country's population will have PTSD at some point in their life, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Causes include combat exposure, physical abuse, an accident or other forms of trauma. Alcohol abuse disorder is also common, affecting some 15 million people in the United States. Those with stress and anxiety disorders such as PTSD are not only more likely to abuse alcohol, but also have increased alcohol withdrawal symptoms and relapse risk.
Most people know or will know someone struggling with one or both of these disorders and may try to help them. However, there are very few effective treatments currently, Roberto says. Both are complex disorders that affect similar brain circuitry. My lab has been studying addiction and stress separately, so here we teamed up with the Zorrilla lab to apply a novel translationally-relevant behavioral model to examine what changes occur when these disorders are comorbid.
The joint study between Roberto and Eric Zorrilla, PhD who are co-senior authors examined behavior, sleep patterns, inflammatory immune responses and levels of a neurotransmitter known as GABA (short for gamma-Aminobutyric acid), which lowers anxiety and increases feelings of relaxation and is a common feature of alcohol dependence.
For both male and female rats, traumatic stress and alcohol exacerbated other behaviors common in PTSD, such as social avoidance startle reactions and defensive behavior. Those who were identified as drinking-vulnerable prior to trauma most strongly showed avoidance of trauma-reminiscent places.
However, the scientists noted key differences in how males and females behave following trauma and saw markedly different patterns of GABA signaling. For example, males showed increased GABA receptor function, while females showed increased GABA release.
This may be important because there is growing awareness that medicines could potentially have different levels of effectiveness in male and female patients and understanding the biology that explains why these differences exist could improve outcomes, Steinman says.
The team also found that males exhibited an immune-based biomarker small proteins known as cytokines, which are secreted by immune cells that determined vulnerability to alcohol use disorder. The females did not.
We identified profiles of specific cytokines, many not previously linked to stress behaviors, that strongly related to poor drinking outcomes, says Zorilla, associate professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine. These may be important clinically or even mechanistically, but they were unique to males, so we have work ahead of us to find similar biomarkers for females.
The Roberto and Zorrilla labs plan to conduct additional research into the mechanisms behind the biological changes they observed and test which brain systems can be targeted to treat both PTSD and alcohol abuse.
We also plan to further investigate the role of the immune system in these disorders, Roberto says. These distinct biomarkers may aid in targeted treatment.
The study, Importance of sex and trauma context on circulating cytokines and amygdalar GABAergic signaling in a comorbid model of posttraumatic stress and alcohol use disorders, was authored by Michael Steinman, Dean Kirson, Sarah Wolfe, Sophia Khom, Shannon D'Ambrosio, Samantha Spierling Bagsic, Michal Bajo, Roman Vlkolinsk , Noah Hoang, Anshita Singhal, Suhas Sureshchandra, Christopher Oleata, Ilhem Messaoudi, Eric Zorrilla and Marisa Roberto.
Support for this study was provided by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA027700, AA013498, P60 AA006420, AA017447, AA021491, AA015566, K99 AA026638 and T32 AA007456), the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R21 DA046865) and the Pearson Center for Alcoholism and Addiction Research.
Neuroscience Roberto, Marisa Zorilla, Eric
Most recent headlines
17/12/2025
Investigative journalists across the Western Balkans and T rkiye continue to con...
17/12/2025
Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Inducts 10 Industry Icons During Unforgettable ...
17/12/2025
ESPN to Debut MNF Playbook with Next Gen Stats, a New AI-Driven NFL Data-AltCastThe series, powered by Adrenaline TruPlay AI, launches Dec. 22 and runs through ...
17/12/2025
Inaugural Optum Golf Channel Games Debut Under the Lights' in Primetime on ...
17/12/2025
The right playlist is essential on New Year's Eve, building the energy as you get ready and keeping it high as you count down to midnight. This year, Spotif...
17/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
17/12/2025
Audiences Watched Over 103 Billion Minutes of TV on Thanksgiving Day
NFL Games ...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
17/12/2025
KPop Demon Hunters Stars Visit Berklee for Weeklong Celebration Andrew Choi and EJAE, who voiced the film's main characters and contributed to its soundtr...
17/12/2025
Wednesday 17 December 2025
Heated Rivalry will be coming to Sky and streaming service NOW on 10 JanuaryTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy opti...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Inside The Unseen World Of Indian Customs: Netflix Reveals The...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix announces PAPARAZZI KING: the docu series coming to Ne...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First Look at Jo Nesbo's Detective Hole Pr...
17/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Welcomes Warner Bros. Discovery Board Recommendation
Business
17 December 2025
Global
Link copied to clipboard
After Careful Revi...
17/12/2025
RT has announced that Kathy Fox has been appointed Commissioning Editor with re...
17/12/2025
The Hao AI Lab research team at the University of California San Diego - at the forefront of pioneering AI model innovation - recently received an NVIDIA DGX B...
17/12/2025
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on ...
17/12/2025
With the new season of Dancing with the Stars shimmering in the not-too-distant future this New Year, the celebrity and dancer pairings of the twelve couples ha...
16/12/2025
Hawkins has landed on Spotify, just in time for Stranger Things Season 5, Volume...
16/12/2025
Wherever you are, your favorite music and audio content should go seamlessly with you. That's why Spotify has partnered with NAVER Corp, Korea's leading...
16/12/2025
2025 Wrapped arrived bigger and bolder than ever. This year's experience is designed to be ultra personal and shareable, with new features like Wrapped Part...
16/12/2025
Three 12-kilowatt Advanced Electric Propulsion System thrusters, supplied by L3Harris Technologies, form the core of Gateway's propulsion system. Pictured i...
16/12/2025
The challenge facing America's defense industrial base is not just about speed - its about rebuilding the foundation that makes speed possible. Our nations ...
16/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
16/12/2025
SEVILLE, Spain Canal Sur, the public broadcasting service for Andalusia, Spain, has completed a total technology refresh based on Pebble's resilient, softwa...
16/12/2025
NEW YORK Teleprompting hardware provider Telescript International has acquired all software code and intellectual property previously owned by Telescript West. ...
16/12/2025
As cable operators face increased competition from 5G fixed wireless access providers, a new report from Ookla Research finds that T-Mobile is the FWA speed lea...
16/12/2025
Apple has announced a major upgrade to the Apple TV app for device owners outside the Apple ecosystem with news that the Apple TV app for Android now supports G...
16/12/2025
Space42 grows Direct-to-Device partner ecosystem through a Memorandum of Underst...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON Announces Release Date for Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2025 R...
16/12/2025
16 Dec 2025
VEON's Kyivstar Invests in Renewable Energy in Ukraine with Acq...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Emma Appleton, Fares Fares, Frida Gustavsson and Jakob Oftebro...
16/12/2025
Back to All News
Docu-reality My Korean Boyfriend Gets a Trailer and Premiere D...
16/12/2025
Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor Improves Streaming Video Quality and Boosts Viewer Engagement SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 16, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: ...
16/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December.
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier t...
16/12/2025
Singer -songwriter Brian Kennedy has been announced as the final celebrity dance...
15/12/2025
Harlem Globetrotters Celebrate 100th Anniversary With New Brand Campaign From Th...
15/12/2025
Top L-R: La Tierra Del Valor (The Home of the Brave), Mangittatuarjuk (The Gnawe...
15/12/2025
L3Harris will leverage 15 years of experience supporting the E-4B Nightwatch and...
PTSD and alcohol abuse go hand-in-hand, but males and females exhibit symptoms differently In rodent experiments modeled to mimic real-life circumstances, scientists revealed brain mechanisms that could lead to targeted treatments.
