An experimental study by researchers at the University of Shenzhen found that people showed increased alertness and a sustained level of attention when testosterone was injected. there was work published Psychoneuroendocrinology.
Testosterone is a hormone that plays a key role in regulating sexual desire, sperm production, and has a wide variety of effects on a number of other body systems. It has also been suggested to modulate pain perception. Previous studies have reported that higher testosterone levels produced by the body are associated with lower pain sensitivity and higher activation of brain regions involved in pain suppression.
The authors wanted to test this role of testosterone in reducing pain as well as examine the brain activity associated with this altered perception. The study included 30 men. All of them were divided into two groups: the first was injected with testosterone, the second – a placebo. Eight experimental sessions were conducted in which volunteers were injected with the drug, followed by a shock (the shock can be both painful and imperceptible. In some sessions a painful shock was predictable, while in others it was not).
The results showed that participants reported a higher intensity of pain when injected with testosterone compared to the ratings they gave during the placebo sessions. Pain was also rated higher during sessions in which painful electrical stimulation was unpredictable.
The authors also analyzed the EEG recordings. The analysis showed higher N1 amplitudes when participants received painful electrical stimulation and when they received testosterone.
“When painful or painless somatosensory stimulation is perceived, testosterone increased the amplitude of the N1 component, reflecting the early stage of somatosensory processing, resulting in greater increases in subjective assessments of pain intensity. In anticipation of impending somatosensory stimulation, expected pain severity scores when predictable were increased,” the authors write. .