Anabolic–androgenic steroid dependence? : Insights from animals and humans / Ruth I. Wood. – (Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology 29 (2008) 29 (October); p. 490-506)
- doi: 10.1016/j.yfrne.2007.12.002
Content:
1.) Breakfast of champions: recent history and prevalence of AAS use
2.) What me worry? Risks and side effects of steroid use
3.) Just say no: AAS reinforcement and dependence in humans
4.) Betcha can’t take just one: stacks and supplements
5.) Gym rats: AAS reinforcement and dependence in animals
5.1.) A few provisos, a couple of quid pro quos
5.2.) Not your father’s drugs: sex differences and effects of circulating androgens
6.) Can’t beat the real thing: reinforcing effects of AAS vs testosterone and its metabolites
7.) This is your brain on steroids: central targets of AAS action
7.1.) Dopamine
7.2.) GABA
7.3.) Serotonin
7.4.) Opioids
8.) The bottom line: what have we learned?
Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are drugs of abuse. They are taken in large quantities by athletes and others to increase performance, with negative health consequences. As a result, in 1991 testosterone and related AAS were declared controlled substances. However, the relative abuse and dependence liability of AAS have not been fully characterized. In humans, it is difficult to separate the direct psychoactive effects of AAS from reinforcement due to their systemic anabolic effects. However, using conditioned place preference and self-administration, studies in animals have demonstrated that AAS are reinforcing in a context where athletic performance is irrelevant. Furthermore, AAS share brain sites of action and neurotransmitter systems in common with other drugs of abuse. In particular, recent evidence links AAS with opioids. In humans, AAS abuse is associated with prescription opioid use. In animals, AAS overdose produces symptoms resembling opioid overdose, and AAS modify the activity of the endogenous opioid system.
