Researchers in Australia have published the result of a study that looked into the role testosterone plays in schizophrenia.
One of the items in the research was the finding that testosterone level might be one of the triggers for schizophrenia. However, if the levels of testosterone are heightened, people with schizophrenia have better cognitive abilities.
The question that researchers must answer is then what level of testosteron is harmful and what level is beneficial.
Schizophrenia in fact usually starts manifesting itself around the time that the person undergoes the physical process of puberty. It is also more common in males than females.
Testosterone has been shown to enhance the brain's sensitivity to dopamine, the 'reward' chemical in the brain.
What the link might be then, scientists believe, between schizophrenia and testosterone, is that testosterone increases the dopamine activity in subjects that have a predisposition towards schizophrenia. In that sense then, testosterone does qualify as a trigger.
But an indipendent study also presented at the same symposium, showed that higher levels of the hormone improves memory, verbal and working, and processing speed or recall. Which shows that testosterone acts differently in the brain of a person suffering from schizophrenia than it does in a person without the condition.
Source: MNT 4.30.13
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