Hormone alters male brain networks to enhance sexual and emotional function

Tech Explorist
In another examination, researchers from Imperial College London explored how a recently discovered hormone called kisspeptin, also known as the master regulator of reproduction, changes brain activity in healthy volunteers.
The hormone is known to play a crucial role in sperm and egg production. It also boosts reproductive behaviors.
Scientists studied the effects of hormones on the brain during rest. So-called resting brain activity is the state our brain enters when not concentrating on a task, and is akin to a car ticking over in neutral.
Scientists think that studying this neutral tend them to have deep insights into what happens when the brain is active. Moreover, studying the resting brain allows scientists to examine large brain networks they know are abnormal in various psychological disorders and see if certain hormones or drugs can effect this.During the study, the hormone was appeared to change action in brain networks at rest, which was connected to diminished sexual repugnance, and expanded cerebrum action related to sexual aversion. The researchers additionally saw that the hormone supported a few systems in the brain associated with mood and depression.
Professor Waljit Dhillo, an NIHR Research Professor and senior author of the study from Imperial’s Department of Medicine said: “Although we have previously investigated how this hormone affects the brain when it is in an active state, this is the first time we’ve demonstrated it also affects the brain in its baseline, resting state. These insights suggest the hormone could one day be used to treat conditions such as low sex drive or depression.”
Dr. Alexander Comninos, a first author of the study and consultant endocrinologist and honorary senior lecturer at Imperial, said: “Our findings help unravel the many and complex roles of the naturally-occurring hormone kisspeptin, and how it orchestrates reproductive hormones as well as sexual and emotional function. Psychosexual problems, such as low sex drive, affect up to one in three people and can have a devastating effect on a person’s, and a couple’s, wellbeing. These findings open avenues for kisspeptin as a future treatment for these problems, although there is a lot of work still to be done.”