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Nan Y, Mehta P, Liao J, Zheng Y, Han C, Wu Y. Testosterone administration decreases sensitivity to angry facial expressions in healthy males: A computational modeling approach. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024; 161:106948. [PMID: 38211451 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 11/10/2023] [Accepted: 12/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
Previous research indicates that higher testosterone levels are related to increased aggressive and dominant behaviors, particularly in males. One possible mechanism for these hormone-behavior associations could involve threat perception. However, the causal influence of testosterone on men's recognition of threatening facial expressions remains unknown. Here, we tested the causal effect of exogenous testosterone on men's sensitivity to facial threat by combining a psychophysical task with computational modeling. We administered a single dose (150 mg) of testosterone or placebo gel to healthy young men (n = 120) in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-participant design. Participants were presented with morphed emotional faces mixing anger/fear and neutral expressions and made judgments about the emotional expression. Across typical regression analysis, signal detection analysis, and drift diffusion modeling, our results consistently showed that individuals who received testosterone (versus placebo) exhibited a lower perceived sensitivity to angry facial expressions. But we observed no significant effects of testosterone administration on fearful facial expressions. The findings indicate that testosterone attenuates sensitivity to facial threat, especially angry facial expressions, which could lead to a misestimation of others' dominance and an increase in one's own aggressive and dominant behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu Nan
- Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China; School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Pranjal Mehta
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jiajun Liao
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yueyuan Zheng
- Department of Psychology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China
| | - Chengyang Han
- Department of Psychology, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yin Wu
- Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China; Research Institute for Sports Science and Technology, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China.
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2
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Liao J, Ou J, Hu Y, Tobler PN, Wu Y. Testosterone administration modulates inequality aversion in healthy males: evidence from computational modeling. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2023; 155:106321. [PMID: 37385090 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2023] [Revised: 06/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
Fairness concerns play a prominent role in promoting cooperation in human societies. Social preferences involving fairness concern have been associated with individual testosterone levels. However, the causal effects of testosterone administration on fairness-related decision making remain to be elucidated. Here, we used a randomized, double-blind, between-participant design and administered testosterone or placebo gel to 120 healthy young men. Three hours after administration, participants performed a modified Dictator Game from behavioral economics, in which they were asked to choose one of two monetary allocations between themselves and anonymous partners. Participants were either in a position of advantageous inequality (i.e., endowed with more than others) or disadvantageous inequality (i.e., endowed with less than others). Computational modeling showed that inequality-related preferences explained behavior better than competing models. Importantly, compared with the placebo group, the testosterone group showed significantly reduced aversion to advantageous inequality but enhanced aversion to disadvantageous inequality. These findings suggest that testosterone facilitates decisions that prioritize selfish economic motives over fairness concerns, which in turn may boost status-enhancing behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiajun Liao
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jianxin Ou
- Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong
| | - Yang Hu
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
| | - Philippe N Tobler
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Yin Wu
- Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong; Research Institute for Sports Science and Technology, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong.
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3
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Wu Y, Wu Y, Chu L, Yang H, Wang W, Deng H. The Optimal Time-lag for Testosterone Challenge Research Based on Salivary Profiles Following Different Doses of Transdermal Testosterone Administrations. J Mol Neurosci 2023; 73:297-306. [PMID: 37093539 DOI: 10.1007/s12031-023-02118-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Abstract
In recent decades, testosterone challenge research examining the effects of testosterone on human neuropsychological behaviors has rapidly grown with the development of a single-dose transdermal testosterone administration paradigm. However, the optimal time-lag between testosterone administration and behavioral measurement is not unified, partly hindering causal understanding of the "testosterone effect". The present study aimed to investigate the optimal time-lag through LC-MS/MS-based salivary profiles of ten biomarkers among healthy males following administration of different doses of transdermal testosterone (i.e., 450- and 150-mg [Androgel®]). Results revealed that testosterone administration significantly increased salivary testosterone levels, reaching maximum levels 2 hours after 450-mg testosterone administration and 1 hour after 150-mg testosterone administration, respectively. Salivary androstenedione and DHEA increased synchronously with testosterone following administration. Moreover, the ratios of testosterone to androstenedione, DHEA, estradiol, and of androstenedione to estrone significantly elevated 1 hour after testosterone administration. In contrast, salivary cortisol and cortisone were decreased over time due to circadian rhythm rather than testosterone administration. Consistent with previous serum studies, the present salivary findings recommended 1-hour post testosterone administration as the optimal time-lag to measure the effects of testosterone on human behaviors in transdermal testosterone challenge research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Wu
- Department of Brain and Learning Science, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science (Southeast University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210096, China
- Institute of Child Development and Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
- Nanjing Jiangbei New Area Biopharmaceutical Public Service Platform Co. Ltd, Nanjing, 210000, China
| | - Yin Wu
- Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, 999077, China
| | - Liuxi Chu
- Department of Brain and Learning Science, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science (Southeast University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210096, China
- Institute of Child Development and Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Haoran Yang
- Department of Brain and Learning Science, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science (Southeast University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210096, China
- Institute of Child Development and Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Department of Brain and Learning Science, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science (Southeast University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210096, China
- Institute of Child Development and Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China
| | - Huihua Deng
- Department of Brain and Learning Science, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China.
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science (Southeast University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing, 210096, China.
- Institute of Child Development and Education, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, China.
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4
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Wu Y, Ou J, Wang X, Zilioli S, Tobler PN, Li Y. Exogeneous testosterone increases sexual impulsivity in heterosexual men. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2022; 145:105914. [PMID: 36115321 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Revised: 08/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yin Wu
- Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong; Research Institute for Sports Science and Technology, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong.
| | - Jianxin Ou
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Xin Wang
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Samuele Zilioli
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, United States; Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, United States
| | - Philippe N Tobler
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Yansong Li
- Department of Psychology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
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5
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Single-dose testosterone administration modulates instant empathic responses to others' pain: An EEG study. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2022; 141:105768. [PMID: 35500352 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Whether or not testosterone can impair empathy remains unclear in the literature. Given that empathic responses to others' emotional experiences depend strongly upon top-down controlled mechanisms of attention, here we investigated whether the effects of testosterone administration on pain empathy could be modulated by manipulating attention. We used a double-blind, placebo-controlled within-participant design, in which either testosterone or placebo was administrated in separate sessions. Images depicting painful or nonpainful scenes were presented to induce instant empathic responses. Experiment 1 adopted the pain-judgment and hands-counting tasks to direct attention toward painful or nonpainful aspect of the images, respectively. Experiment 2 employed the pain-rating task to estimate affective and cognitive aspects of pain empathy. When discriminating nonpainful aspects of the images in the hands-counting task, accuracies were lower and empathic late positive potential responses were greater in testosterone sessions than in placebo sessions. This suggested that testosterone enhanced empathic responses to task-irrelevant pain-related features, which interfered with task performance. When providing empathic ratings to the images in the pain-rating task, empathic event-related potentials in the early stage were only observed in the testosterone session. This suggested that testosterone facilitated automatic affective reactivity to others' pain when elaborately processing empathic stimuli. Nevertheless, when discriminating painful aspects of the images in the pain-judgment task, we did not observe any significant differences between the two sessions. These results demonstrated that testosterone effects on enhancing brain reactivity to empathic stimuli were dependent upon task demands deploying attention allocation. The enhancement likely arose from the altered brain state (e.g., increased vigilance and arousal levels) after testosterone administration, as evidenced by the reduced amplitude of spontaneous α-oscillation recorded before the onset of the images. It expands our understanding of the neurobiological mechanisms that affect empathy, and highlights the role of testosterone.
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6
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Bugten JB, Lugo RG, Steptoe K. Validation of the Need for Competing Inventory. Front Psychol 2021; 12:721903. [PMID: 34659033 PMCID: PMC8517083 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.721903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Past studies have been conducted on competitiveness and achievement orientation as two noncooperative explanations for achievement motivation and achievement behavior. But a complimentary representation of a competitive-achievement orientation has yet to be explored. This paper developed and validated the need for competing inventory (NCI), and further investigated its relations with achievement orientation, emotional assessment, self-efficacy, grit, anxiety, and flow. The results from the present study support the theoretical construct of the need for competing, in the hope that it will provide a solid foundation for a competitive-achievement orientation, which is suggested to play a significant role in competitive achievement behavior. It is anticipated that the results from the present study will open a debate for including a competitive-achievement orientation in future research with the aim for a stronger predictor for achievement behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesper B. Bugten
- Institute for Psychology, Kristiania University College, Oslo, Norway
| | - Ricardo G. Lugo
- Department of Welfare, Management and Organisation, Østfold University College, Hamar, Norway
| | - Karl Steptoe
- Institute for Sport and Exercise Psychology, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom
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7
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Stanton SJ, Welker KM, Bonin PL, Goldfarb B, Carré JM. The effect of testosterone on economic risk-taking: A multi-study, multi-method investigation. Horm Behav 2021; 134:105014. [PMID: 34214918 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Revised: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Testosterone has been suggested to influence individuals' economic decision making, yet the effects of testosterone on economic behavior are not well-understood and existing research is equivocal. In response, in three studies, we examined the extent to which testosterone affected or was associated with several different facets of economic decision making. Study 1 was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects study examining loss aversion and risk-taking (N = 26), whereas Study 2 was a larger double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-subjects study examining loss aversion and risk-taking behavior (N = 117). As a methodological compliment, Study 3 was a larger correlational design (N = 213) with a highly accurate measure of endogenous testosterone examining a wider range of economic behaviors and trait-like preferences. Broadly, the results of all three studies suggest no consistent relationship between testosterone and financial behavior or preferences. Although there were significant effects in specific cases, these findings did not replicate in other studies or would not remain significant when controlling for family-wise error rate. We consider potential contextual moderators that may determine under what circumstances testosterone affects economic decision making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven J Stanton
- 420 Elliott Hall, School of Business Administration, Oakland University, 2200 N. Squirrel Rd., Rochester, MI 48309, United States of America.
| | | | - Pierre L Bonin
- Northern Ontario School of Medicine, 935 Ramsey Lake Rd., Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, Canada
| | - Bernard Goldfarb
- Northern Ontario School of Medicine, 935 Ramsey Lake Rd., Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, Canada.
| | - Justin M Carré
- Nipissing University, 100 College Drive, North Bay P1B 8L7, Ontario, Canada.
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8
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Abstract
Previous research has shown that stress can affect emotion processing in a variety of settings. However, little attention has been paid to the effects of stress on emotional decision-making. The present study addressed this question by exposing healthy young participants either to a stressor (n = 30)-socially evaluated cold pressor task- or a non-stressful control task (n = 30). Subsequently, participants completed a computerized decision-making task in which they could compare the obtained factual outcome with a non-obtained counterfactual outcome. Saliva samples were taken at four time points over the course of the experiment and used to analyze cortisol levels. Results revealed that acute stress induced reliable salivary cortisol increase over the experimental task. At the outcome delivery stage, acute stress amplified negative emotions induced by the counterfactual comparison. At the choice stage, under stress, participants were more likely to make regret-averse decisions. The findings that acute stress amplifies both experienced and anticipated regret is consistent with dual process frameworks such that stress tilts decision-making toward more emotional and intuitive processing.Lay summaryStress is thought to affect emotional processing. The present study investigated the effects of acute stress on emotional decision making using a typical counterfactual decision making task. Acute stress amplified both experience and anticipation of regret, consistent with the dual process frame that stress tilts decision-making toward more emotional and intuitive processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yin Wu
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Eric van Dijk
- Department of Social, Economic and Organizational Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Hong Li
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
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9
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Fang H, Li X, Zhang W, Fan B, Wu Y, Peng W. Single dose testosterone administration enhances novelty responsiveness and short-term habituation in healthy males. Horm Behav 2021; 131:104963. [PMID: 33711638 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.104963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2020] [Revised: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The role of testosterone in sensory perception suggests that testosterone likely regulates adaptive responses to sensory changes, including habituation to repeated events and responsiveness to novel events. To test this hypothesis, we investigated how testosterone modulates brain responses to rapid changes in sensory inputs. Using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-participant design, each participant received a single dose of either testosterone or placebo, and then completed a passive auditory oddball task in which infrequent deviant tones were embedded in a series of frequent standard tones. Analysis of novelty-evoked potentials revealed smaller Mismatch Negativity (MMN) responses, but larger P3a responses in the testosterone session than in the placebo session. This suggests testosterone attenuates MMN responses that are associated with pre-attentive novelty detection and enhances P3a responses that are associated with involuntary attentional orientation toward novelty. Along with the repetition of standard tones, P2 responses on the auditory evoked potentials became significantly attenuated in the testosterone session, but not in the placebo session. This suggests testosterone enhances short-term habituation of P2 responses to recurring sensory events, which has been associated with bottom-up attention allocation. Mediation analysis further revealed that the role of testosterone in promoting attentional orientation toward novelty could be explained by the influence it exerts on short-term habituation and pre-attentive novelty detection. Overall, testosterone facilitated involuntary attention switching-withdrawal of attention from repeated sensory events and orientation toward novel sensory events-at the cost of attenuated pre-attentive novelty detection. This finding provides insight into the interplay between endocrinology and involuntary attentional processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huihua Fang
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; Department of Psychology, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Xiaoyun Li
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Wenyun Zhang
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Bi Fan
- School of Management, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yin Wu
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Weiwei Peng
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
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10
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Testosterone reduces generosity through cortical and subcortical mechanisms. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2021745118. [PMID: 33723066 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2021745118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent evidence has linked testosterone, a major sex hormone, to selfishness in economic decision-making. Here, we aimed to investigate the neural mechanisms through which testosterone reduces generosity by combining functional MRI with pharmacological manipulation among healthy young males in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-subject design. After testosterone or placebo gel administration, participants performed a social discounting task in which they chose between selfish options (benefiting only the participant) and generous options (providing also some benefit to another person at a particular social distance). At the behavioral level, testosterone reduced generosity compared to the placebo. At the neural level (n = 60), the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) encoded the other-regarding value of the generous option during generous choices, and this effect was attenuated by testosterone, suggesting that testosterone reduced the consideration of other's welfare as underpinned by TPJ activity. Moreover, TPJ activity more strongly reflected individual differences in generosity in the placebo than the testosterone group. Furthermore, testosterone weakened the relation between the other-regarding value of generous decisions and connectivity between the TPJ and a region extending from the insula into the striatum. Together, these findings suggest that a network encompassing both cortical and subcortical components underpins the effects of testosterone on social preferences.
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11
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Han C, Watkins CD, Nan Y, Ou J, Lei X, Li X, Wu Y. Exogenous testosterone decreases men's sensitivity to vocal cues of male dominance. Horm Behav 2021; 127:104871. [PMID: 33058835 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2020] [Revised: 08/25/2020] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Assessing dominance is important for effective social interactions, and prior research suggests that testosterone is associated with men's dominance perceptions. The present study tested for a causal effect of exogenous testosterone on men's sensitivity to vocal cues of other men's dominance, an important parameter in male-male competition across species. One hundred and thirty-nine Chinese men received a single dose (150 mg) of testosterone or placebo gel in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-participant design. Participants reported their own dominance and judged other men's dominance from voices. Men's dominance sensitivity was significantly weaker in the testosterone group compared to those in the placebo group. Moreover, men's dominance sensitivity was negatively associated with their self-reported dominance in our Chinese sample, consistent with findings from Western populations. These results indicate that exogenous testosterone has a causal effect in decreasing men's dominance sensitivity, consistent with the Challenge Hypothesis, suggesting that the fluctuation of testosterone concentration mediates individuals' behaviors. Additionally, the present study could motivate further work on vocal assessment in the context of competition in humans and other species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengyang Han
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Christopher D Watkins
- Division of Psychology, School of Applied Sciences, Abertay University, Dundee, United Kingdom
| | - Yu Nan
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jianxin Ou
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xue Lei
- School of Business Administration, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xiangqian Li
- School of Psychology, Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China
| | - Yin Wu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
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12
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Fang H, Li X, Wu Y, Peng W. Single dose testosterone administration modulates the temporal dynamics of distractor processing. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2020; 121:104838. [PMID: 32871336 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2020] [Revised: 07/19/2020] [Accepted: 07/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Some evidence suggests that testosterone can increase attentional orientation toward biologically relevant stimuli and increase sustained attention during goal-oriented behaviors. While rare irregular distractors often capture attention involuntarily and distract us away from the task at hand, we hypothesized that testosterone might (1) facilitate attentional orientation to novel distractors that are of potential behavioral relevance and (2) inhibit information processing of distractors that are irrelevant to the task. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the effects of testosterone on distractor processing in a novelty oddball task, during which infrequent target and distractor sounds were interspersed within a series of frequent non-target sounds. Using a double-blind, placebo-controlled within-participant design, we administered a single dose of either testosterone or placebo to 34 healthy male volunteers and compared their electroencephalographic responses to distractors. Increased amplitude of the early (260-310 ms) P3 component-which has been associated with phasic arousal and alertness triggered by novel stimuli-was observed in the testosterone session than in the placebo session. This early-P3 response mediated the effect of testosterone administration on target hit rate during the task. In addition, less α-oscillation suppression-which has been associated with the inhibition of task-irrelevant information processing-was observed in response to distractors later (538-757 ms) in the testosterone session than in the placebo session. These results suggest that testosterone facilitated phasic arousal to novel distractors during the early-latency stage, which might have influenced behavioral performance during the task. Furthermore, testosterone inhibited task-irrelevant information processing during the late-latency stage, which allowed better reorientation of attention back to the primary task. Our findings highlight the role of testosterone in distractor processing, and provide a theoretical basis for treating attention-related behavioral disorders with hormone therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huihua Fang
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; Department of Psychology, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Xiaoyun Li
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Yin Wu
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China
| | - Weiwei Peng
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China.
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13
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Wu Y, Zhang Y, Ou J, Hu Y, Zilioli S. Exogenous testosterone increases the audience effect in healthy males: evidence for the social status hypothesis. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20200976. [PMID: 32673552 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Several studies have implicated testosterone in the modulation of altruistic behaviours instrumental to advancing social status. Independent studies have also shown that people tend to behave more altruistically when being watched (i.e. audience effect). To date, little is known about whether testosterone could modulate the audience effect. In the current study, we tested the effect of testosterone on altruistic behaviour using a donation task, wherein participants were asked to either accept or reject a monetary transfer to a charity organization accompanying a personal cost either in the presence or absence of an observer. We administered testosterone gel or placebo to healthy young men (n = 140) in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, mixed design. Our results showed that participants were more likely to accept the monetary transfer to the charity when being observed compared to when they completed the task alone. More importantly, this audience effect was amplified among people receiving testosterone versus placebo. Our findings suggest that testosterone administration increases the audience effect and further buttress the social status hypothesis, according to which testosterone promotes status-seeking behaviour in a context-dependent manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yin Wu
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, People's Republic of China.,Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, People's Republic of China
| | - Yinhua Zhang
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, People's Republic of China.,Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, People's Republic of China
| | - Jianxin Ou
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, People's Republic of China.,Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, People's Republic of China
| | - Yang Hu
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China
| | - Samuele Zilioli
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.,Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
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14
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Carré JM, Robinson BA. Testosterone administration in human social neuroendocrinology: Past, present, and future. Horm Behav 2020; 122:104754. [PMID: 32333931 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Revised: 03/07/2020] [Accepted: 03/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Over the past 20 years, social neuroendocrinology researchers have developed pharmacological challenge paradigms to assess the extent to which testosterone plays a causal role in human psychological and behavioural processes. The current paper provides a brief summary of this research and offers recommendations for future research examining the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying human behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin M Carré
- Department of Psychology, Nipissing University, North Bay, Ontario, Canada.
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15
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Wu Y, Wu Y, Deng J, Chu L, Yang H, Wang W, Liao J, Cheng Y, Deng H. Screening and identification of salivary biomarkers for assessing the effects of exogenous testosterone administration on HPG and HPA axes and ECS. Steroids 2020; 158:108604. [PMID: 32084505 DOI: 10.1016/j.steroids.2020.108604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Revised: 02/01/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2020] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
The contents of steroids and endocannabinoids along with the ratios between them would be candidate biomarkers for sensitively and comprehensively assessing the role of testosterone in regulating the activities of the hypothalamus-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, the hypothalamus-pituitaryadrenal (HPA) axis and endogenous cannabinoid system (ECS). However, previous studies mostly used the contents rather than the ratios as biomarkers. This study aimed to systematically screen and identify sensitive biomarkers from 21 candidates including both the contents of nine steroids and one endocannabinoid and their ratios in saliva. Three screening criteria were whether there were intergroup differences, time-dependent changes and considerable relative stability during a 4-h period after exogenous testosterone administration. This study used LC-APCI+-MS/MS to determine the salivary levels of the candidate biomarkers on 62 male healthy undergraduates who were divided into testosterone administration and placebo control groups. The results revealed that salivary testosterone, androstenedione, DHEA and the ratios of testosterone to estradiol and AEA, and of cortisol to testosterone and DHEA were sensitive biomarkers for assessing the effects of testosterone administration on the three neuroendocrine systems because they all showed significant intergroup differences and time-dependent changes and good relative stability. Salivary cortisol, cortisone and the ratios of testosterone to androstenedione and DHEA and of androstenedione to estrone, and of cortisol to cortisone, androstenedione and AEA might be suitable biomarkers because they met only two of the three criteria, but needed to be validated in the future. The rest biomarkers were unsuitable because they mostly showed no significant intergroup differences, blunt time-dependent changes and poor relative stability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Wu
- Department of Brain and Learning Science, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China; Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science (Southeast University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210096, China; Institute of Child Development and Education, Research Center for Learning Science, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Yin Wu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518061, China; School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518061, China
| | - Jia Deng
- College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
| | - Liuxi Chu
- Department of Brain and Learning Science, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China; Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science (Southeast University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210096, China; Institute of Child Development and Education, Research Center for Learning Science, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Haoran Yang
- Department of Brain and Learning Science, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China; Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science (Southeast University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210096, China; Institute of Child Development and Education, Research Center for Learning Science, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Department of Brain and Learning Science, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China; Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science (Southeast University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210096, China; Institute of Child Development and Education, Research Center for Learning Science, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Jiajun Liao
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518061, China; School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518061, China
| | - Yizhi Cheng
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518061, China; School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518061, China
| | - Huihua Deng
- Department of Brain and Learning Science, School of Biological Science & Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China; Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science (Southeast University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210096, China; Institute of Child Development and Education, Research Center for Learning Science, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China.
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16
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Han C, Zhang Y, Lei X, Li X, Morrison ER, Wu Y. Single dose testosterone administration increases men's facial femininity preference in a Chinese population. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2020; 115:104630. [PMID: 32120018 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2019] [Revised: 02/19/2020] [Accepted: 02/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Sex hormones are thought to influence human mate preferences. Previous studies have reported mixed results regarding the association between men's testosterone levels and their mate preferences. The present study investigated the effect of testosterone administration on men's facial femininity preference. Heterosexual Chinese male participants (n = 140) received a single dose of 150 mg testosterone or placebo gel in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-participant design. Results showed that Chinese men demonstrated general preferences for feminized women's faces, consistent with previous results from the Western population. More importantly, men showed stronger attraction to femininity in women's faces three hours after testosterone administration than at the beginning of the session. In the placebo group, no significant change in facial femininity preferences was found between time points. These results indicate that exogenous testosterone increases men's facial femininity preferences in a Chinese population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengyang Han
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yinhua Zhang
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xue Lei
- School of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, United Kingdom
| | - Xiangqian Li
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Edward R Morrison
- Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK
| | - Yin Wu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
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17
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Losecaat Vermeer AB, Krol I, Gausterer C, Wagner B, Eisenegger C, Lamm C. Exogenous testosterone increases status-seeking motivation in men with unstable low social status. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2020; 113:104552. [PMID: 31884320 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.104552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2019] [Revised: 10/11/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Testosterone is associated with status-seeking behaviors such as competition, which may depend on whether one wins or loses status, but also on the stability of one's status. We examined (1) to what extent testosterone administration affects competition behavior in repeated social contests in men with high or low rank, and (2), whether this relationship is moderated by hierarchy stability, as predicted by the status instability hypothesis. Using a real effort-based design in healthy male participants (N = 173 males), we first found that testosterone (vs. placebo) increased motivation to compete for status, but only in individuals with an unstable low status. A second part of the experiment, tailored to directly compare stable with unstable hierarchies, indicated that exogenous testosterone again increased competitive motivation in individuals with a low unstable status, but decreased competition behavior in men with low stable status. Additionally, exogenous testosterone increased motivation in those with a stable high status. Further analysis suggested that these effects were moderated by individuals' trait dominance, and genetic differences assessed by the androgen receptor (CAG-repeat) and dopamine transporter (DAT1) polymorphisms. Our study provides evidence that testosterone specifically boosts status-related motivation when there is an opportunity to improve one's social status. The findings contribute to our understanding of testosterone's causal role in status-seeking motivation in competition behavior, and indicate that testosterone adaptively increases our drive for high status in a context-dependent manner. We discuss potential neurobiological pathways through which testosterone may attain these effects on behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- A B Losecaat Vermeer
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Biopsychology Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria.
| | - I Krol
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Biopsychology Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria
| | - C Gausterer
- FDZ-Forensisches DNA Zentrallabor GmbH, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
| | - B Wagner
- Laboratory for Chromatographic & Spectrometric Analysis, FH JOANNEUM, Graz, Austria
| | - C Eisenegger
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Biopsychology Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria
| | - C Lamm
- Neuropsychopharmacology and Biopsychology Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Austria; Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, University of Vienna, Austria
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18
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Wu Y, Shen B, Liao J, Li Y, Zilioli S, Li H. Single dose testosterone administration increases impulsivity in the intertemporal choice task among healthy males. Horm Behav 2020; 118:104634. [PMID: 31765657 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2019.104634] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2019] [Revised: 11/05/2019] [Accepted: 11/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Circulating levels of testosterone have been positively associated with impulsivity. The present study investigates the effect of testosterone administration on impulsivity in an intertemporal choice task, where participants are given a choice between smaller-sooner rewards and larger-later rewards. Healthy young male participants (n = 111) received a single-dose of 150 mg testosterone gel in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-subjects design. At 180 min post-administration, participants performed the decision-making task. Both model-free (i.e., higher indifference point) and model-based (i.e., steeper discounting rate) parameters revealed that testosterone administration increased impulsive choice. This finding supports the hypothesis that exogenous testosterone increases impulsivity among healthy young males in a laboratory task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yin Wu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
| | - Bo Shen
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, Jinhua, China
| | - Jiajun Liao
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yansong Li
- Reward, Competition, Dominance and Social Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China; Institute for Brain Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China
| | - Samuele Zilioli
- Institute for Brain Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China; Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, United States; Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, United States
| | - Hong Li
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
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19
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Puiu AA, Radke S, Votinov M, Habel U, Herpertz-Dahlmann B, Turetsky B, Konrad K. Serum Testosterone and Cortisol Concentrations After Single-Dose Administration of 100-Mg Transdermal Testosterone in Healthy Men. Front Pharmacol 2019; 10:1397. [PMID: 31824320 PMCID: PMC6881786 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2019.01397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2019] [Accepted: 11/01/2019] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The growing interest in testosterone's effects on men's social behaviors, in particular aggressive, risk-taking, or status maintenance behaviors, is accompanied by a paucity of dose-dependent pharmacokinetic data. Examining the neurophysiological effects of transdermal testosterone typically includes a 4h delay before further brain-behavior measurements. Nevertheless, high heterogeneity regarding the timing of follow-up measurements and dosage remains. In a double-blind placebo-controlled design, we examined the short-term pharmacokinetic profile of 100-mg transdermal testosterone (Testotop®) to determine the optimal time for detecting testosterone-mediated effects. Across two studies, 35 healthy men received a single dose of testosterone and placebo in two separate sessions. In study one (n = 16), serum testosterone and cortisol were assessed serially every 30 min up to 2 h posttreatment. In study two (n = 19), we assessed serum testosterone and cortisol at baseline, 2 h, and 4.15 h (255 min) posttreatment. Relative to baseline and placebo, transdermal testosterone significantly increased total serum testosterone concentrations 90 min posttreatment, reaching maximum concentration between 2 h and 3 h posttreatment. Albeit elevated, serum testosterone levels gradually decreased between 2 h and 4 h following treatment. Transdermal testosterone did not suppress cortisol release. Instead, cortisol concentrations decreased according to cortisol's known circadian rhythm. Unlike previous findings showing significant testosterone concentration increases as soon as 60 min and as late as 3 h post 150-mg testosterone treatment, our 100-mg testosterone manipulation significantly increased testosterone concentrations 90 min following treatment. These pharmacokinetic data are important in facilitating the optimization of timing parameters for future testosterone challenge studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrei A Puiu
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,Brain-Behavior Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Sina Radke
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Mikhail Votinov
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine: JARA-Institute Brain Structure Function Relationship (INM 10), Research Center Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Bruce Turetsky
- Brain-Behavior Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Kerstin Konrad
- Child Neuropsychology Section, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,JARA-Brain Institute II Molecular Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
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20
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Wu Y, Liao J, Zilioli S, Wu Y, Deng H, Li H, Tobler PN. Testosterone administration increases social discounting in healthy males. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2019; 108:127-134. [PMID: 31260872 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2019] [Revised: 06/07/2019] [Accepted: 06/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Although testosterone is thought to induce antisocial and aggressive behavior, research on social economic interactions has associated it with prosocial and affiliative behavior. Here, we investigated the effects of testosterone on social distance-dependent generosity in an economic discounting task where participants chose between selfish and generous alternatives. We administered testosterone gel or placebo to men in a double-blind, randomized design and measured how willing they were to share rewards with close and distant others. Across two studies (total n = 174), testosterone administration consistently increased social discounting, that is participants became more selfish, particularly with regard to distant others (vs. close others). This effect was not explained by testosterone-induced increases in social distance perception. Our findings provide causal evidence that-testosterone reduces generosity in human economic decision-making. Moreover, they suggest that the valuation and the perception of social distance are independently affected by testosterone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yin Wu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; College of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.
| | - Jiajun Liao
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; College of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Samuele Zilioli
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, United States; Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, United States
| | - Yan Wu
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science (Ministry of Education), Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Huihua Deng
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science (Ministry of Education), Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Hong Li
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; College of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Philippe N Tobler
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics, Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Switzerland
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21
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Liao J, Zhang Y, Li Y, Li H, Zilioli S, Wu Y. Exogenous Testosterone Increases Decoy Effect in Healthy Males. Front Psychol 2018; 9:2188. [PMID: 30483195 PMCID: PMC6243091 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2018] [Accepted: 10/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
There is increasing interest in the role played by testosterone in economic decision-making and social cognition. However, despite the growing body of findings in this field of research, no empirical study to date has tested whether testosterone modulates decision-making when an asymmetrically dominated decoy option is introduced in a choice set. Within a choice set that comprises two options, an asymmetrically dominated decoy option is a third option that, when introduced in the choice set, is much worse than one of the existing options, but comparable to the other existing option. Introduction of a decoy option leads to a preference toward the dominating option (i.e., decoy effect). Healthy male participants (n = 63) received a single-dose of 150 mg testosterone gel in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-subjects design. At 180 min post-administration, participants took part in a decision-making task to elicit decoy effect. Results showed that participants in the testosterone group made less consistent choices and more target choices (i.e., decoy effect) than participants in the placebo group. These findings are interpreted in light of the dual-process theory and are in line with existing evidence suggesting that testosterone promotes more intuitive and automatic judgments in human decision-making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiajun Liao
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.,College of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yang Zhang
- School of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen, China
| | - Yingchun Li
- School of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen), Shenzhen, China
| | - Hong Li
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.,College of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Samuele Zilioli
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States.,Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
| | - Yin Wu
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.,College of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
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