Pharmacologically Altered Androgens, Brain Activation, and Response Inhibition in a Stop-Signal Task in Male Heavy Drinkers
January 2026
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Studysummary In this study, lower dihydrotestosterone and higher testosterone levels were linked to increased brain activation during response inhibition, although no behavioral changes were detected.
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This study explored the impact of reducing dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels using finasteride on brain activation and response inhibition in male heavy drinkers. Involving 50 participants in a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, cross-over fMRI study, it was found that lower DHT and higher testosterone (T) levels were linked to increased neural activation in temporal regions during response inhibition tasks. However, hormone levels did not significantly affect behavioral outcomes in the stop signal task. The results suggest that DHT and T are associated with neural activation during response inhibition, highlighting potential therapeutic approaches for addressing problem drinking and Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) through androgen modulation.
