Studies suggest that the pathophysiology of alcoholism may differ significantly between men and women. To explore this possibility, we have employed several pharmacological challenge paradigms to compare the behavioral and endocrine responses between male and female alcoholics. Preliminary analysis of our results shows that the m- chlorophenylpiperazine (m-CPP) gives rise to minimal behavioral effects in women. This corresponds to the responses obtained from Type I male alcoholics (late onset) demonstrated in a separate study. In contrast, only one of the women experienced a m-CPP induced """"""""desire to drink"""""""" response demonstrated to occur in approximately 40 percent of the Type II (early onset) male alcoholics.
