Toward a Translational Model of Sex-Associated Pavlovian Phenotypes

Abstract

A recent study by Hakus et al. (2025) demonstrated sex-associated differences in Pavlovian phenotypes in rodents, with females more likely to exhibit sign-tracking behaviour and males more likely to exhibit goal-tracking behaviour. In the present work, we provide evidence that similar patterns emerge in humans. Using a validated eye-tracking procedure in a Pavlovian learning paradigm, we show that women are more frequently classified as sign-trackers and quantitatively show greater sign-tracking behaviour than men in a large human sample. These results support the translational value of preclinical findings and highlight the importance of considering sex differences in incentive salience attribution. Given the established link between sign-trackers and addiction vulnerability, our findings may help refine our understanding of individual risk factors in the development of such disorders.