Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / It has traditionally been posited that women show a "telescoped" development of alcohol use disorders (Kuhn, 2011). In particular, a number of clinical studies support striking sex differences in the progression from initial use of alcohol to dependence on the compound; with women showing a faster progression through landmark events associated with the development of alcohol addiction (Randall et al., 1999). However, recent studies have challenged this tenet (Keyes et al., 2010). The work presented herein was designed to determine whether females are indeed more vulnerable to the development of behavioral maladaptations following binge drinking and whether sex differences in GABA(A) receptor regulation might underlie this vulnerability. Using a mouse model of binge drinking this dissertation established that, compared to males, females escalate their binge drinking at a faster rate and maintain altered responsivity to the locomotor effects of alcohol after extended abstinence from binge drinking. Female mice also displayed significant increases in ethanol preference and intake in a continuous, two-bottle choice protocol following a shorter history of binge drinking than males. The final goal was to determine if binge drinking results in unique patterns of anxiety- or depressive-like symptoms in males and females and whether these behaviors would be associated with the dimorphic regulation of GABAA receptor subunits across the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. Male binge drinkers displayed anxiety-like behavior during early withdrawal that dissipated after 2 weeks of abstinence. There were no significant changes in the expression of delta or gamma2 GABAA receptor subunit mRNA at this time point in the regions analyzed. Females also showed temporary anxiety-like behavior during early withdrawal from binge drinking. Additionally, females displayed significant depressive-like behavior after 2 weeks of abstinence from binge drinking. In particular, diestrus-phase females displayed significantly greater immobility in the forced-swim test after ethanol exposure and no longer maintained the reduced swim-time behavior associated with this phase of the cycle at baseline (when compared to the estrus-phase). qPCR analysis of hippocampal tissues from diestrus females supported a significant reduction in expression of gamma2 GABA(A) subunit mRNA after binge drinking. This effect was not noted for RNA isolated from hippocampal tissues taken during the estrus phase of bingers. These final data suggest possible interaction of estrous-cycle and binge drinking history that may result in the unique expression of deficits following binge drinking for females. Taken together, this work supports sex and estrous dependent effects of binge drinking on behavior and gene regulation.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Russian demographic statistics reflect the persistence of a dramatically wide gender gap in life expectancy and mortality over the last decades - about twice that found in the developed world. On average, men in Russia live 12 years less than Russian women, and 14.5 years less than men in Western Europe. This thesis provides an overview and synthesis of the most recently available literature that addresses the persistent gender gap in mortality and life expectancy in Russia. I reviewed the prevalent behavioral and social-structural drivers that explain the causes of higher male mortality in contemporary Russia. Especially, I looked at how the conceptualization of the male social role and related norms that shape masculine behavior contribute to high male mortality in Russia. The study reveals that men’s unhealthy, risky behavior and their higher vulnerability to stress are considered to be linked to their gendered social identity which is created and reproduced by the social-structural context of the Russia’s society.