in DAergic function during adolescence.43,46–48 Sex differences in drinking patterns and the rates of alcohol abuse and dependence begin to emerge during the transition from late puberty to young adulthood. Increases in pubertal hormones, including gonadal and stress hormones, are a prominent developmental feature of adolescence and could contribute to the progression of sex differences in alcohol drinking behavior during puberty. Witt46 reviewed experimental and correlational studies of gonadal and stress-related hormone changes, as well as their effects on alcohol consumption and the associated neurobehavioral actions of alcohol on the mesolimbic dopaminergic system. Mechanisms have been suggested by which reproductive and stress-related hormones may modulate neural circuits within the brain reward system, and these hormones may produce sex differences in terms of alcohol consumption patterns and adolescents’ vulnerability to alcohol abuse and dependence, which become apparent during the late pubertal period.
