Testosterone administration decreases sensitivity to angry facial expressions in healthy males: A computational modeling approach

Yu Nan, Pranjal Mehta, Jiajun Liao, Yueyuan Zheng, Chengyang Han, Yin Wu

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

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.

Original languageEnglish
Article number106948
JournalPsychoneuroendocrinology
Volume161
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2024

Keywords

  • Angry facial expressions
  • Emotion
  • Fearful facial expressions
  • Social threat
  • Testosterone

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
  • Endocrinology
  • Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Biological Psychiatry

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