Testosterone, the main male hormone, has long been known to have antidepressant properties, although the mechanisms underlying these effects were unknown. Now, a study from Florida State University (USA) published in the journal Biologycal Psychiatry has revealed that there is a region located in the hippocampus – the brain area involved in the formation of memory and the regulation of stress responses – that plays a crucial role in mediating these positive effects of testosterone.
Compared to men, women are twice as likely to suffer from affective disorders such as depression . Male hypogonadism – a disease in which the body does not produce testosterone or produces it in low amounts – also increases levels of depression and anxiety. To find out why this happens, and how to apply it in the development of future antidepressants, Mohamed Kabbaj and his colleagues worked with adult rats who were depressed. The depression in rodents disappeared by administering testosterone. The scientists found a molecular marker called MAPK / ERK2 whose proper functioning is necessary for testosterone to fight pathological sadness.
The scientists also showed that the positive effects of testosterone are not associated with changes in the formation of new neurons (neurogenesis), which is the case when antidepressant drugs such as fluoxetine (Prozac) are administered.
