Performance-enhancing drugs, such as anabolic steroids, exert their effects on the body by directly affecting the brain. These drugs are called "androgenic" because they impact androgens or male hormones like testosterone. Hormone receptors deep in the emotional centers of the brain mediate testosterone's effect on energy, thought, mood and sexuality. Long-term administration of steroids reduces allopregnanolone, a natural tranquilizer. With this sedating hormone gone, testosterone produces strong emotional responses.
Increased Anxiety
Using anabolic steroids may increase feelings of anxiety. A 2010 study presented in the medical journal "Psychoneuroendocrinology" administered commonly abused steroids to female mice. These illicit drugs increased startle responses to unexpected noise, but they did not affect fear measures. Steroid intake also enhanced the amount of stress hormones such as corticotropin releasing factor.
Anabolic steroids have similar effects on the anxiety levels of humans. A 1994 report in the "Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness" surveyed male athletes currently taking steroids. Competitors trained in exercise routines requiring periods of steroid use followed by periods of abstinence. Anxiety and suspicion were common in these athletes during steroid use, but such feelings dissipated during abstinence.
Increased Aggression
The relationship between testosterone and aggression remains controversial. High levels of internal testosterone and oral intake of exogenous testosterone do not correlate with aggressive behavior. Yet the use of anabolic steroids produces aggression. A 2010 study offered in the periodical "Behavioural Pharmacology" reveals that steroid injections enhanced measures of aggression in male hamsters. Steroid "cocktails" similar to those used by athletes increased lateral attacks, flank bites and offensive postures.
Studies testing human subjects also show that anabolic steroids increase aggressive behavior. A 2003 report in the "Journal of Forensic Science" evaluated the personalities of male weightlifters using, and not using, steroids. Drug users had higher aggression scores, but they also had higher levels of psychopathology. Steroids may increase aggression and aggressive people may be more likely to use them.
Decreased Libido
Men using anabolic steroids often report sexual side effects like a reduction in testicle size. And steroids may virilize women giving them larger clitori. Such changes in reproductive organs correlate with changes in sexual desire. A 2008 study published in the journal "Hormones and Behavior" looked at the sexual effects of anabolic steroids in male hamsters. Hamsters injected with steroids during adulthood displayed less sexual behavior. These hamsters mated less often and took longer to mate than controls.
A 2010 case described in the journal "Fertility and Sterility" also demonstrates the asexual effects of steroids. a 34-year-old man purchased anabolic steroids on the Internet. After chronically using these drugs, he experienced a reduction in sexual energy and desire. Stopping steroid intake for one month normalized his testosterone levels and restored his sexual virility.
References
- "Psychoneuroendocrinology;" Chronic Anabolic Androgenic Steroid Exposure Alters Corticotropin Releasing Factor Expression and Anxiety-Like Behaviors in the Female Mouse; B. A. Costine et al.; May 25, 2010
- "Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness;" Anabolic Steroid Use by Amateur Athletes: Effects upon Psychological Mood States; A. C. Parrott et al.; September 1994
- "Behavioural Pharmacology;" Anterior Hypothalamic Dopamine D2 Receptors Modulate Adolescent Anabolic/Androgenic Steroid-Induced Offensive Aggression in the Syrian Hamster. J. J. Schwartzer et al.; June 15, 2010
- "Journal of Forensic Science;" Measures of Aggression and Mood Changes in Male Weightlifters with and without Androgenic Anabolic Steroid Use; P. J. Perry et al.; May 2003
- "Hormones and Behavior;" Anabolic Androgenic Steroids Differentially Affect Social Behaviors in Adolescent and Adult Male Syrian Hamsters; K. Y. Salas-Ramirez et al.; February 2008
