acquisition rate or by increasing the perserveration rate on a cortical-dependent task. While recently we have begun to examine sex differences in the impact of early ethanol exposure on behavior, future work should be extended to examine sex differences in NAcc DA following early ethanol exposure. Given that research has been conducted on the interaction of glutamate and dopamine following chronic exposure to ethanol exclusively in adult rodents (Kapasova and Szumlinski, 2008; Szumlinski et al, 2007; Piepponen et al, 2002), it would be interesting to evaluate these same neurochemical interactions in male and female adolescent rats and to determine if any alterations persist into adulthood. It is plausible that both DA and glutamate interact to induce long-lasting changes in the mesolimbic pathway and cortical areas since ethanol has been shown to alter synaptic efficacy of both glutamatergic and dopaminergic pathways (Carpenter-Hyland and Chandler, 2007; Yim and Gonzales, 2000; Smith and Weiss et al, 1999; Philpot et al, 1998; Badanich et al, 2007). Taking these approaches will allow us to determine underlying neurochemical mechanisms mediating changes in sensitivity to alcohol consumption and other alcohol-related behaviors.
