ABSTRACT
Feeding is an important contributor for maintaining energy balance and survival. Dysregulation of feeding behavior ultimately leads to eating disorders and obesity; both are more common in women than in men. Sex differences are present in a number of aspects of central nervous system reward circuits regulating reward processing and energy intake, underlying distinct feeding behaviors and regulation of energy homeostasis, and leading to differences in prevalence for eating disorders and obesity between men and women. The mechanisms for sex differences in feeding behavior are not clearly understood but have been attributed to the interaction between hormones and reward circuits. In this chapter, the authors summarize findings from human and animal studies of reward processing that regulates feeding; emphasize the importance of sex as a biological factor of feeding behavior; identify specific mechanisms involving estrogen and its receptors underlying sex differences involving dopaminergic reward circuits and circulating adiposity hormones in the regulation of feeding; and discuss how dysregulation of neural circuits could lead to eating disorders and obesity. This chapter promotes research on determining sex differences in the regulation of feeding. Understanding the crosstalk between dopaminergic reward circuits and adiposity hormones is critical for the treatment and prevention of eating disorders and metabolic diseases. The sex differences witnessed emphasize the need for clinical therapeutic strategies to be modified differently between men and women.
