The use of anabolic steroids can possibly have long-term effects on aggression and behavior much after the abuse of these performance enhancing drugs has been stopped, according to Northeastern University psychology professor Richard Melloni.

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), one of the world’s foremost medical research centers.

From Sciencedaily.com:

The researchers initially hypothesized that steroid use during adolescence might permanently alter the brain’s chemistry and a person’s tendency toward aggression long after use has stopped. Their most recent findings, published this week in Hormones and Behavior, enabled them to confirm this hypothesis and conclude that there is indeed a lengthy price – namely long-term aggression – to pay for drug abuse even after the ingestion of steroids ceases.

“We know testosterone or steroids affect the development of serotonin nerve cells, which, in turn, decreases serotonin availability in the brain,” Melloni says. “The serotonin neural system is still developing during adolescence and the use of anabolic steroids during this critical period appears to have immediate and longer-term neural and behavioral consequences. What we know at this point is that aggressiveness doesn’t simply cease after the ingestion of steroids does.”

It was remarked by Melloni that athletes abusing steroids could also be prone towards aggressive behavior long after use of steroids has been waned by steroid users.