Exogeneous testosterone increases sexual impulsivity in heterosexual men

Abstract

Testosterone has been hypothesized to promote sexual motivation and behavior. However, experimental evidence in healthy humans is sparse and rarely establishes causality. The present study investigated how testosterone affects delay of gratification for sexual rewards. We administered a single dose of testosterone to healthy young males in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, between-participant design (N = 140). Participants underwent a sexual delay discounting task, in which they made a choice between a variable larger-later option (i.e., waiting longer to view a sexual picture for a longer duration) and a smaller-sooner option (i.e., waiting for a fixed shorter period of time to view the same picture for a shorter duration). We found that testosterone administration increased preference for the smaller-sooner option and induced steeper discounting for the delayed option. These findings provide direct experimental evidence that rapid testosterone elevations increase impulsivity for sexual rewards and represent an important step towards a better understanding of the neuroendocrine basis of sexual motivation in humans.