A new study reveals that anabolic steroid use in teenagers may have a long-term effect on their brains, causing aggression to last for years after quitting the drugs.
Professor Richard Melloni Jr., Ph.D., and his colleagues at Northeastern University in Boston studied the behavior of hamsters while on steroids and then after withdrawal. The researchers' finding appear in the latest issue of Behavioral Neuroscience, a journal of the American Psychological Association.
Melloni and two of his graduate students discovered that hamsters showing levels of tame play-fighting similar to human teenagers became aggressive when injected with commonly used steroids. The full-blown aggression lasted for long periods during the hamsters' adult life, leaving the team to estimate that teens who use steroids may become adults with behavioral problems. Autopsies performed on the hamsters that went through withdrawal revealed inner changes in their brains that correlated with outward aggressiveness.
"Steroids step on the gas for aggression by enhancing the activity of brain areas that induce aggression," says Melloni.
"Some of the effects may wear off after withdrawal, but aggressive behavior won't stop immediately, leaving them to be a danger to themselves and others."
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), an estimated half million teenagers (eighth- 10th- and 12th-graders) abuse anabolic-androgenic steroids (AASs) annually. Neuroscientists say that steroid use at that stage of a teenager's life can lead to heavier use later, not to mention the likelihood of offensive aggression and other psychiatric problems.
"We hope teenagers realize that achieving excessive muscle mass and unrealistic athletic achievements are not worth the damage steroids can cause," says Melloni.
Melloni hopes that these findings will help treat aggressive and offensive behavior with or without drug use.
"There is a critical developmental period for the brain during teenage life, when drug use can result in permanent damage," says Melloni. "We're finding, for instance, that serotonin levels, which play a part in depression, may be altered forever."
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Teen "steroid rage" lasts for years
Fri 10 Mar 2006
BOSTON (myDNA News)
Link
Professor Richard Melloni Jr., Ph.D., and his colleagues at Northeastern University in Boston studied the behavior of hamsters while on steroids and then after withdrawal. The researchers' finding appear in the latest issue of Behavioral Neuroscience, a journal of the American Psychological Association.
Melloni and two of his graduate students discovered that hamsters showing levels of tame play-fighting similar to human teenagers became aggressive when injected with commonly used steroids. The full-blown aggression lasted for long periods during the hamsters' adult life, leaving the team to estimate that teens who use steroids may become adults with behavioral problems. Autopsies performed on the hamsters that went through withdrawal revealed inner changes in their brains that correlated with outward aggressiveness.
"Steroids step on the gas for aggression by enhancing the activity of brain areas that induce aggression," says Melloni.
"Some of the effects may wear off after withdrawal, but aggressive behavior won't stop immediately, leaving them to be a danger to themselves and others."
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), an estimated half million teenagers (eighth- 10th- and 12th-graders) abuse anabolic-androgenic steroids (AASs) annually. Neuroscientists say that steroid use at that stage of a teenager's life can lead to heavier use later, not to mention the likelihood of offensive aggression and other psychiatric problems.
"We hope teenagers realize that achieving excessive muscle mass and unrealistic athletic achievements are not worth the damage steroids can cause," says Melloni.
Melloni hopes that these findings will help treat aggressive and offensive behavior with or without drug use.
"There is a critical developmental period for the brain during teenage life, when drug use can result in permanent damage," says Melloni. "We're finding, for instance, that serotonin levels, which play a part in depression, may be altered forever."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Teen "steroid rage" lasts for years
Fri 10 Mar 2006
BOSTON (myDNA News)
Link
