Androgen responsiveness to competition in humans: the role of cognitive variables

Oliveira, Rui; Oliveira, Gonçalo

Publication

Androgen responsiveness to competition in humans: the role of cognitive variables

2014-02-11Journal article

dc.contributor.author	Oliveira, Rui
dc.contributor.author	Oliveira, Gonçalo
dc.date.accessioned	2016-06-16T15:36:13Z
dc.date.available	2016-06-16T15:36:13Z
dc.date.issued	2014-02-11
dc.description.abstract	Although androgens are commonly seen as male sex hormones, it has been established over the years that in both sexes, androgens also respond to social challenges. To explain the socially driven changes in androgens, two theoretical models have been proposed: the biosocial model and the challenge hypothesis. These models are typically seen as partly overlapping; however, they generate different predictions that are clarified here. In humans, sports competition and nonmetabolic competitive tasks have been used in the laboratory setting, as a proxy for agonistic interactions in animals. The results reviewed here show that the testosterone (T) response to competition in humans is highly variable – the studies present postcompetition T levels and changes in T that depend on the contest outcome and that cannot be predicted by the current theoretical models. These conflicting results bring to the foreground the importance of considering cognitive factors that could moderate the androgen response to competition. Among these variables, we elect cognitive appraisal and its components as a key candidate modulating factor. It is known that T also modulates the cognitive processes that are relevant to performance in competition. In this article, we reviewed the evidence arising from studies investigating the effect of administering exogenous T and compare those results with the findings from studies that measured endogenous T levels. Finally, we summarized the importance of also considering the interaction between androgens and other hormones, such as cortisol, when investigating the social modulation of T, as proposed by the dual-hormone hypothesis.	pt_PT
dc.description.sponsorship	FCT PhD fellowship: (SFRH/BD/68528/2010); FCT strategic grant: (PEst-OE/MAR/UI0331/2011).	pt_PT
dc.identifier.citation	478. Oliveira, G.A., Oliveira, R.F. (2014). Androgen responsiveness to competition in humans: the role of cognitive variables. Neuroscience and Neuroeconomics 3: 19–32.	pt_PT
dc.identifier.doi	10.2147/NAN.S55721	pt_PT
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10400.7/650
dc.language.iso	eng	pt_PT
dc.peerreviewed	yes	pt_PT
dc.publisher	Dove Medical Press	pt_PT
dc.relation.publisherversion	https://www.dovepress.com/androgen-responsiveness-to-competition-in-humans-the-role-of-cognitive-peer-reviewed-article-NAN	pt_PT
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/	pt_PT
dc.subject	testosterone	pt_PT
dc.subject	challenge hypothesis	pt_PT
dc.subject	biosocial model	pt_PT
dc.subject	cognitive appraisal	pt_PT
dc.subject	cortisol	pt_PT
dc.title	Androgen responsiveness to competition in humans: the role of cognitive variables	pt_PT
dc.type	journal article
dspace.entity.type	Publication
oaire.citation.endPage	32	pt_PT
oaire.citation.startPage	19	pt_PT
oaire.citation.title	Neuroscience and Neuroeconomics	pt_PT
oaire.citation.volume	2014:3	pt_PT
rcaap.rights	openAccess	pt_PT
rcaap.type	article	pt_PT