More than one in ten boys have been admitting the use of anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs over the last decade, a fact that has been of great concern for parents and researchers. The fact that physiological and neurological effects in the long term associated with such use have not been fully recognized or examined in the past adds to the troubles.

A new research by Northeastern University has documented the link between association between adolescent anabolic steroid use and aggression. The study appeared in an issue of the journal Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior and suggested that there is a possible link between increased aggression with deficits in the brain’s serotonin system.

From Sciencedaily.com:

During the first experiment, the researchers administered a “high dose” of anabolic steroids to adolescent hamsters over the course of a month, a period corresponding to five years repeated dosage in human adolescents. Those hamsters given steroids were, as other studies have shown, more aggressive than those not treated with steroids.

In the second stage of the experiment, the researchers administered fluoxtine (Prozac), commonly used in treating depression in humans by encouraging the presence of serotonin (the “feel good” receptor), to the hamsters treated with chronic levels of steroids, and found that the previously aggressive tendencies were notably decreased. As in humans, aggressions were mellowed in the presence of Prozac, or serotonin.

Finally, the brains of the anabolic steroid-treated hamsters were examined under a microscope to determine the effect the drugs have on the developing nervous system. In those animals exposed to steroids, significantly lower levels of serotonin were present in the neural connections in their brains, particularly in areas related to aggression and violence.

The research was funded by the National Institute of Health.