Not logged in.

Contribution Details

Type Journal Article
Scope Discipline-based scholarship
Title Exogeneous testosterone increases sexual impulsivity in heterosexual men
Organization Unit
Authors
  • Yin Wu
  • Jianxin Ou
  • Xin Wang
  • Samuele Zilioli
  • Philippe Tobler
  • Yansong Li
Item Subtype Original Work
Refereed Yes
Status Published in final form
Language
  • English
Journal Title Psychoneuroendocrinology
Publisher Elsevier
Geographical Reach international
ISSN 0306-4530
Volume 145
Page Range 105914
Date 2022
Abstract Text Testosterone has been hypothesized to promote sexual motivation and behavior. However, experimental evidence in healthy humans is sparse and rarely establishes causality. The present study investigated how testosterone affects delay of gratification for sexual rewards. We administered a single dose of testosterone to healthy young males in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-participant design (N = 140). Participants underwent a sexual delay discounting task, in which they made a choice between a variable larger-later option (i.e., waiting longer to view a sexual picture for a longer duration) and a smaller-sooner option (i.e., waiting for a fixed shorter period of time to view the same picture for a shorter duration). We found that testosterone administration increased preference for the smaller-sooner option and induced steeper discounting for the delayed option. These findings provide direct experimental evidence that rapid testosterone elevations increase impulsivity for sexual rewards and represent an important step towards a better understanding of the neuroendocrine basis of sexual motivation in humans.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105914
Other Identification Number merlin-id:23058
PDF File Download from ZORA
Export BibTeX
EP3 XML (ZORA)
Keywords Biological psychiatry, psychiatry and mental health, endocrine and autonomic systems, endocrinology, endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism, androgen, impulsivity, sexual reward, intertemporal choice, mating