Trial reportPsychopharmacology2006
Effects of DHEA administration on episodic memory, cortisol and mood in healthy young men: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study.
Trial report in Psychopharmacology, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 93 citations in OpenAlex.
- Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) supplementation for cognitive function in healthy elderly people.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2006Pooled it
- The neurosteroids allopregnanolone and dehydroepiandrosterone modulate resting-state amygdala connectivity.Human brain mapping · 2014Trial
- DHEA enhances emotion regulation neurocircuits and modulates memory for emotional stimuli.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2013Trial
- Administration of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) increases serum levels of androgens and estrogens but does not enhance short-term memory in post-menopausal women.Brain research · 2012Trial
- Trial
- Receiving caregiver support and its association with hair hormones in people living with Alzheimer's disease: The role of caregivers' perspective taking.Psychoneuroendocrinology · 2026Article
- Adrenarche as a regulator of sensitivity to early adversity.Journal of neuroendocrinology · 2026Review
- Teachers' acute cardiovascular response to observed classroom disruptions and resulting chronic endocrine stress. Analysis of dynamic effects with global assessments for state space grids.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Neurosteroids Progesterone and Dehydroepiandrosterone: Molecular Mechanisms of Action in Neuroprotection and Neuroinflammation.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- DHEA: a neglected biological signal that may affect fetal and child development.Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines · 2024Article
- Estimating survival in data-driven phenotypes of mental health symptoms and peripheral biomarkers: A prospective study.Brain, behavior, & immunity - health · 2024Article
- Pharmacological targeting of cognitive impairment in depression: recent developments and challenges in human clinical research.Translational psychiatry · 2022Review
- Does seeking the brawns impact the brain?: An investigation of muscularity-oriented disordered behaviors and cognitive function.Body image · 2022Article
- Article
- Hair cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone concentrations: Associations with executive function in early childhood.Biological psychology · 2020Article
- Beyond Glucocorticoids: Integrating Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) into Animal Welfare Research.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2020Review
- Imbalance Between Salivary Cortisol and DHEA Responses Is Associated with Social Cost and Self-perception to Social Evaluative Threat in Japanese Healthy Young Adults.International journal of behavioral medicine · 2020Article
- Testosterone and Dehydroepiandrosterone Treatment in Ageing Men: Are We All Set?The world journal of men's health · 2020Review
- Hormonal Function Responses to Moderate Aerobic Exercise in Older Adults with Depression.Clinical interventions in aging · 2020Article
- Sex-specific contribution of DHEA-cortisol ratio to prefrontal-hippocampal structural development, cognitive abilities and personality traits.Journal of neuroendocrinology · 2019Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
rationaleDehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) has been reported to enhance cognition in rodents, although there are inconsistent findings in humans.
objectivesThe aim of this study was to investigate the effects of DHEA administration in healthy young men on episodic memory and its neural correlates utilising an event-related potential (ERP) technique.
methodsTwenty-four healthy young men were treated with a 7-day course of oral DHEA (150 mg b.d.) or placebo in a double blind, random, crossover and balanced order design. Subjective mood and memory were measured using visual analogue scales (VASs). Cortisol concentrations were measured in saliva samples. ERPs were recorded during retrieval in an episodic memory test. Low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) was used to identify brain regions involved in the cognitive task.
resultsDHEA administration led to a reduction in evening cortisol concentrations and improved VAS mood and memory. Recollection accuracy in the episodic memory test was significantly improved following DHEA administration. LORETA revealed significant hippocampal activation associated with successful episodic memory retrieval following placebo. DHEA modified ERPs associated with retrieval and led to a trend towards an early differential activation of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).
conclusionsDHEA treatment improved memory recollection and mood and decreased trough cortisol levels. The effect of DHEA appears to be via neuronal recruitment of the steroid sensitive ACC that may be involved in pre-hippocampal memory processing. These findings are distinctive, being the first to show such beneficial effects of DHEA on memory in healthy young men.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.