Studies on steroids effects on the brain.

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Neuropsychology. 2019 May;33(4):547-559. doi: 10.1037/neu0000537.
Cognitive performance and structural brain correlates in long-term anabolic-androgenic steroid exposed and nonexposed weightlifters.
Bjørnebekk A1, Westlye LT2, Walhovd KB3, Jørstad ML1, Sundseth ØØ4, Fjell AM3.
Author information

1
Division of Mental Health and Addiction.
2
Norwegian Center for Mental Disorders Research, KG Jebsen Center for Psychosis Research.
3
Research Group for Lifespan Changes in Brain and Cognition.
4
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Abstract
OBJECTIVE:

To test for associations between long-term anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use and cognitive functioning, and establish a candidate neuronal basis by assessing the associations between cognitive performance and brain morphology both in users and nonusers.
METHOD:

Eighty four previous or current AAS-users and 69 non-AAS-using male weightlifters aged 19-75 years (mean 32.6, SD 8.8) underwent MRI of the brain and a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery. Performance on fine motor speed, speed of processing, learning and memory, working memory, executive functioning, and problem solving was compared between the groups, and between AAS users with short versus long AAS exposure. Associations between cognitive scores and regional cortical thickness and arealization defined using FreeSurfer were tested using linear models.
RESULTS:

Relative to nonexposed, AAS-exposed weightlifters performed significantly worse on several cognitive domains, independent of age, education, verbal IQ, and exposure to classical drugs of abuse. Strongest effects were observed for speed of processing (ηp2 = .07), working memory (ηp2 = .08) and problem solving (ηp2 = .09). Longer duration of AAS-use was associated with poorer memory function (ηp2 = .11). Within AAS users, individuals with better memory and working memory performance had with thicker frontoparietal cortex and larger medial frontal surface area, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS:

Prolonged high-dose AAS use is associated with poorer cognitive function across multiple domains, and the observed regional associations between cortical brain morphometry and memory and working memory performance may suggest differential brain-based mechanisms. The public, health care professionals, and policymakers should be aware that use of AAS in large doses potentially could lead to poorer brain health and cognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

PMID:
31033318
DOI:
10.1037/neu0000537

[Indexed for MEDLINE]

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Cognitive deficits in long-term anabolic-androgenic steroid users.
Kanayama G1, Kean J, Hudson JI, Pope HG Jr.
Author information

1
Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA 02478, USA.

Abstract
BACKGROUND:

Millions of individuals worldwide have used anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) to gain muscle or improve athletic performance. Recently, in vitro investigations have suggested that supraphysiologic AAS doses cause apoptosis of neuronal cells. These findings raise the possibility, apparently still untested, that humans using high-dose AAS might eventually develop cognitive deficits.
METHODS:

We administered five cognitive tests from the computerized CANTAB battery (Pattern Recognition Memory, Verbal Recognition Memory, Paired Associates Learning, Choice Reaction Time, and Rapid Visual Information Processing) to 31 male AAS users and 13 non-AAS-using weightlifters age 29-55, recruited and studied in May 2012 in Middlesbrough, UK. Testers were blinded to participants' AAS status and other historical data.
RESULTS:

Long-term AAS users showed no significant differences from nonusers on measures of response speed, sustained attention, and verbal memory. On visuospatial memory, however, AAS users performed significantly more poorly than nonusers, and within the user group, visuospatial performance showed a significant negative correlation with total lifetime AAS dose. These were large effects: on Pattern Recognition Memory, long-term AAS users underperformed nonusers by almost one standard deviation, based on normative population scores (adjusted mean difference in z-scores=0.89; p=0.036), and performance on this test declined markedly with increasing lifetime AAS dose (adjusted change in z-score=-0.13 per 100g of lifetime AAS dose; p=0.002). These results remained stable in sensitivity analyses addressing potential confounding factors.
CONCLUSIONS:

These preliminary findings raise the ominous possibility that long-term high-dose AAS exposure may cause cognitive deficits, notably in visuospatial memory.

Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

PMID:
23253252
PMCID:
PMC3608708
DOI:
10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2012.11.008

[Indexed for MEDLINE]

Free PMC Article

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Brain and cognition abnormalities in long-term anabolic-androgenic steroid users.
Kaufman MJ1, Janes AC2, Hudson JI3, Brennan BP3, Kanayama G3, Kerrigan AR2, Jensen JE2, Pope HG Jr3.
Author information

1
McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, The Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 115 Mill St., Belmont, MA 02478, USA. Electronic address: kaufman@mclean.harvard.edu.
2
McLean Imaging Center, McLean Hospital, The Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 115 Mill St., Belmont, MA 02478, USA.
3
Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, McLean Hospital, The Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, 115 Mill St., Belmont, MA 02478, USA.

Abstract
BACKGROUND:

Anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) use is associated with psychiatric symptoms including increased aggression as well as with cognitive dysfunction. The brain effects of long-term AAS use have not been assessed in humans.
METHODS:

This multimodal magnetic resonance imaging study of the brain compared 10 male weightlifters reporting long-term AAS use with 10 age-matched weightlifters reporting no AAS exposure. Participants were administered visuospatial memory tests and underwent neuroimaging. Brain volumetric analyses were performed; resting-state fMRI functional connectivity (rsFC) was evaluated using a region-of-interest analysis focused on the amygdala; and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) metabolites were quantified by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS).
RESULTS:

AAS users had larger right amygdala volumes than nonusers (P=0.002) and reduced rsFC between right amygdala and frontal, striatal, limbic, hippocampal, and visual cortical areas. Left amygdala volumes were slightly larger in AAS users (P=0.061) but few group differences were detected in left amygdala rsFC. AAS users also had lower dACC scyllo-inositol levels (P=0.004) and higher glutamine/glutamate ratios (P=0.028), possibly reflecting increased glutamate turnover. On a visuospatial cognitive task, AAS users performed more poorly than nonusers, with the difference approaching significance (P=0.053).
CONCLUSIONS:

Long-term AAS use is associated with right amygdala enlargement and reduced right amygdala rsFC with brain areas involved in cognitive control and spatial memory, which could contribute to the psychiatric effects and cognitive dysfunction associated with AAS use. The MRS abnormalities we detected could reflect enhanced glutamate turnover and increased vulnerability to neurotoxic or neurodegenerative processes, which could contribute to AAS-associated cognitive dysfunction.

Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
KEYWORDS:

Amygdala; Anabolic-androgenic steroids; Glutamate; Magnetic resonance imaging; Magnetic resonance spectroscopy; Scyllo-inositol

PMID:
25986964
PMCID:
PMC4458166
DOI:
10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.04.023

[Indexed for MEDLINE]

Free PMC Article

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Figure 1

[liftsiron]

Sort of makes you think, at least while your still capable of thought.

[liftsiron]

Bump!

[Glycomann]

Weird. On most cycles I feel my mind and memory are better/faster. Nandrolones seem to make things foggy. Studios like these lump all kinds of AAS use into one barrel. There seems to be a trend at least in these three abstracts. I'm not sure how they correct for other risky behaviors. The differences are not huge. I am not a statistician but what they are reporting is effect size basically. They are not reporting p values or significance values. Like I said though, there does seem to be a trend at least across two groups of scientists. I believe Harrison Pope is well respected.

[liftsiron]

I feel better all around with extra test in my system. I wonder if the steroids group were ex NFL, boxers WWE or other athletes whose brains were battered by sports.

[Glycomann]

I feel better all around with extra test in my system. I wonder if the steroids group were ex NFL, boxers WWE or other athletes whose brains were battered by sports.

Yeah I wonder. Now thinking of it, this Harrison Pope was the guy in the news some 8-9 years and also around the time they were scheduled ago when the steroid thing was popular. I really don't know how stringent his methods are. Impact factor of the one journal Drug Alcohol Depend is in the 3.4 range, which isn't terrible.

[Deacon]

the funny thing is that almost long term users I know think clearer look and act younger than the general public - so I kinda question the above study