What Effect Does Testosterone Have on the Body

10 Facts Every Man Should Know About Testosterone UPMC HealthBeat

But bodybuilders take supraphysiologic doses of it—that is, amounts much higher than any woman’s body would ever make on its own. When experts prescribe testosterone to postmenopausal women, it is intended to replicate the amount a younger woman makes, and taking too much can lead to an array of unpleasant side effects. You see, while men have more of it, testosterone is not a “male hormone”—it is a human hormone that is just as important in women as it is in men.

This allowed researchers to establish the normal hormonal ranges for the participants and monitor any deviations from these baseline levels38. Testosterone is a male sex hormone primarily produced in the testes in men and the ovaries and adrenal glands in women. It belongs to a group of hormones called androgens responsible for developing and maintaining male sexual characteristics. One function of testosterone in both men and women is the conversion into estradiol – the body’s primary form of estrogen. However, imbalanced hormone levels can result in a condition called estrogen dominance when too much testosterone conversion by the enzyme aromatase results in high estrogen and low testosterone levels.

In this account, ‘T’ becomes the potent, hormonal essence of competitive, risk-taking masculinity. Sex drive is a nonclinical term that means enthusiasm or interest in sexual activity. The presence of it (or lack thereof) can indicate the state of your mental and physical functioning.

In contrast, I am interested in the diversity we see across species, and the reasons to expect humans’ capacities for social learning and culture to play a key role in development and evolution. You work from the frame that there is a general ‘principle’ that testosterone drives sex differences in aggression in mammals. You expect humans to conform to that principle, and interpret the weak and ambiguous evidence from humans on the relationship between hormones and aggression through this lens. Our substantive disagreements are about the origins of sex differences. You see testosterone as one variable in the complex system of human behaviour.

Testosterone is one of over sixty chemical messengers (hormones) in the body that regulate all our critical functions. Hormones such as testosterone enter the bloodstream and seek out their receptor cells for binding to engage their actions. While testosterone plays a role in sperm production, supplementing with testosterone actually decreases sperm production and can impact fertility, Dr. Patel says. So, it’s important to talk to your doctor before using testosterone therapies. Testosterone plays a role in bone density and maintaining bone health.

Testosterone levels are controlled by a feedback loop between your brain, your pituitary gland and your testes. This could be because your testes are not working properly, or because the pituitary gland in your brain is not telling your testes to make testosterone. Testosterone levels can vary greatly depending on your sex, age and health. Children usually have lower levels of testosterone that increase around puberty. If, as I believe, testosterone drives some important sex differences, this shouldn’t deter us from pursuing a safer, more just society. The solution lies in harnessing the power of culture, rather than altering our genes and hormones. An openness to the strongest evidence, and to learning all we can about how long does testosterone shots take to work genes and environment interact to produce behaviour, can only help.

One example that comes to mind is the shorebird known as the red-necked phalarope, in which the males do nearly all of the parenting, while females are larger and brighter, and compete aggressively for mates. Of course, science also tells us the many fascinating stories of ‘non-traditional’ sex roles! Some men aren’t interested in mating with women, and some transition to living in a female social role.

Despite being a male sex hormone, testosterone also contributes to sex drive, bone density, and muscle strength in women. However, an excess of testosterone can also cause women to experience male pattern baldness and infertility. As surprising as it may be, women can also be bothered by symptoms of testosterone deficiency.

Carole says that testosterone ‘drives higher rates of aggressive competition in male mammals’ – including humans. As she puts it, sex differences ‘in traits like aggression (or anything else), originate in our differences in inherited biology’. Yet, according to her, this causally potent and ubiquitous hormonal force leaves only some men with a predisposition to aggression (setting aside whether or not it is expressed). For example, research on mice clearly shows testosterone’s causal role in male aggression – it increases at puberty, castration reduces it, and injections restore it.

An evolutionary perspective can help to make sense of these patterns. Testosterone is responsible for developing male characteristics, such as the deepening of the voice, body and facial hair growth, and increased muscle mass. During puberty, testosterone levels increase, leading to the development of masculine features. Deepening of the voice occurs due to the growth of the larynx, which Testosterone stimulates. It also stimulates the growth of facial and body hair, leading to the growth of a beard, mustache, and body hair. It promotes the growth of muscle mass and strength, which is why men typically have more muscle mass than women.