Testosterone is Antidepressant

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It has long been known that testosterone, the main male hormone, has antidepressant properties, although the mechanisms underlying these effects were unknown. Now, a study by Florida State University (USA) published in the journal Psychiatry Biologycal has revealed that there is a region of the hippocampus, the brain area involved in memory formation and the regulation of stress responses-playing a crucial role in mediating these positive effects of testosterone.

Compared with men, women are twice as likely to suffer from mood disorders like depression. Male hypogonadism, a situation in which the body does not produce testosterone or produce it in small quantities, also increased levels of depression and anxiety. To find out why this happens, and how to apply in the development of future antidepressants, Mohamed Kabbaj and his colleagues worked with adult rats that led to depression. Depression disappeared in rodents administered testosterone. The scientists found a molecular marker called MAPK/ERK2 whose proper functioning is necessary to combat testosterone 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 does happen when given antidepressants such as fluoxetine (Prozac).