Wayne State University, United States.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2013 Oct;38(10):2034-41. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2013.03.008. Epub 2013 Apr 12.
Testosterone concentrations rise rapidly in the context of competitive interactions and remain elevated in winners relative to losers. Theoretical models suggest that this divergent neuroendocrine response serves to mediate future dominance behaviours. Although research in animal models provides compelling support for this model, evidence for its applicability to human social behaviour is limited. In the current study, men and women were randomly assigned to experience a series of victories or defeats, after which aggressive behaviour was assessed using a well-validated behavioural measure. Winning produced elevated testosterone concentrations relative to losing in men, but not women. More importantly, testosterone reactivity to competition mediated the effect of winning on subsequent aggressive behaviour in men, but not women. We discuss limitations of the current study (e.g., the status manipulation may have affected other variables not measured in the study including competitiveness and physical activity expended), as well as discuss a potential neural mechanism underlying the effect of testosterone reactivity on aggressive behaviour.
在竞争互动的背景下，睾丸激素浓度会迅速上升，并且获胜者的睾丸激素浓度相对高于失败者。理论模型表明，这种不同的神经内分泌反应有助于调节未来的支配行为。尽管动物模型的研究为该模型提供了强有力的支持，但该模型在人类社会行为中的适用性证据有限。在当前的研究中，男性和女性被随机分配经历一系列的胜利或失败，之后使用经过充分验证的行为测量来评估攻击性行为。与失败相比，胜利会使男性的睾丸激素浓度升高，但不会使女性的睾丸激素浓度升高。更重要的是，睾丸激素对竞争的反应在男性中介导了胜利对后续攻击行为的影响，但在女性中没有。我们讨论了当前研究的局限性（例如，地位操纵可能会影响研究中未测量的其他变量，包括竞争力和所消耗的体力活动），并讨论了睾丸激素反应对攻击行为影响的潜在神经机制。
