Sex as a biological variable in the neurocircuitry of motivated behavior

It is generally assumed that differences in the processing of salient information and the manifestation of motivated behavior are a product of variations in neurocircuitry. The contribution of sex to such variations is an area of increasingly active research, and has the potential to partially explain sex differences in risk aversion and goal seeking. Furthermore, many mental health diseases (e.g., depression, addiction, schizophrenia, etc.) have sex differences in their prevalence and severity, and have alterations in motivation as part of their presentation. A better understanding of how sex and sex hormones contribute to differences in brain structure and function may lead to better treatment for the motivational deficits seen with such diseases.

The goal of this Research Topic is to collect articles with a focus on sex as a modulating factor in neurocircuits responsible for the development and expression of motivated behavior. This would encompass differences that are the result of gene expression, brain organization, or the activational effects of sex hormones. While most research likely will be pre-clinical in nature, human subjects research is welcome. Investigations can be expansions upon known sex differences in brain nuclei or the description of novel differences in previously unexplored brain areas. Techniques may be varied and while motivated behavior is the focus of this collection, a behavioral endpoint is not required.

For this Research Topic, we are looking for a broad range of original research, methodology, and review articles related to sex as a factor that modulates the function of motivation-related centers within the brain. Particular areas of focus include, but are not limited to:

• Sex differences in the regulation/function of motivation-related neurocircuitry
• Sex hormones as a modulator of motivated behavior
• Novel brain nuclei that regulate motivated behavior in a sex-dependent manner.
• The relation amongst sex, sex hormones, and neurological/mental health disorders
• Novel approaches to the study of sex differences in motivated behavior
• Focused reviews of the current state of sex as a factor in motivation, and future directions

Keywords: motivation, reward, dopamine, estrogen, testosterone

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.