ArticlePsychopharmacology2024
Supraphysiological testosterone levels from anabolic steroid use and reduced sensitivity to negative facial expressions in men.
Article in Psychopharmacology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Anabolic androgenic steroids induce distinct monoaminergic and lipidomic alterations in the male rat brain.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Chronic high-dose testosterone disrupts social cognition and enhances social dominance in male long-Evans rats.Hormones and behavior · 2024Article
- Sleep pathology and use of anabolic androgen steroids among male weightlifters in Norway.BMC psychiatry · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
rationaleAnabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are used to improve physical performance and appearance, but have been associated with deficits in social cognitive functioning. Approximately 30% of people who use AAS develop a dependence, increasing the risk for undesired effects.
objectivesTo assess the relationship between AAS use (current/previous), AAS dependence, and the ability to recognize emotional facial expressions, and investigate the potential mediating role of hormone levels.
methodsIn total 156 male weightlifters, including those with current (n = 45) or previous (n = 34) AAS use and never-using controls (n = 77), completed a facial Emotion Recognition Task (ERT). Participants were presented with faces expressing one out of six emotions (sadness, happiness, fear, anger, disgust, and surprise) and were instructed to indicate which of the six emotions each face displayed. ERT accuracy and response time were recorded and evaluated for association with AAS use status, AAS dependence, and serum reproductive hormone levels. Mediation models were used to evaluate the mediating role of androgens in the relationship between AAS use and ERT performance.
resultsCompared to never-using controls, men currently using AAS exhibited lower recognition accuracy for facial emotional expressions, particularly anger (Cohen's d = -0.57, p
conclusionsOur findings demonstrate impaired facial emotion recognition among men currently using AAS compared to controls. While further studies are needed to investigate potential mechanisms, our analysis did not support a simple mediation effect of serum FTI.
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