Anabolic-androgenic steroid effects on the sexual behavior of intact male rats.

Six separate experiments were conducted which examined the effects of long-term administration of anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) compounds on the sexual behavior of gonadally intact male rats. The six AAS compounds analyzed in this study were 17alpha-methyltestosterone, methandrostenolone, nandrolone decanoate, stanozolol, oxymetholone, and testosterone cypionate. In each experiment, subjects received daily injections of a high, medium, or low dose of the AAS compound, or the oil vehicle, for 12 weeks. Sexual behavior was quantified weekly. Twelve weeks of administration of the high dose of three AAS compounds, 17alpha-methyltestosterone, stanozolol, and oxymetholone, eliminated male sexual behavior. These treatments also suppressed serum testosterone levels. The remaining compounds had minimal effects on sexual behavior at any dose. Thus, in intact male rats the six AAS compounds examined in these studies evoked a range of behavioral and endocrine responses that varied as a function of the specific compound and dose administered.

Comparison of the effects of 17 alpha-methyltestosterone, methandrostenolone, and nandrolone decanoate on the sexual behavior of castrated male rats.

In a series of 3 experiments, adult male Long-Evans rats were castrated and treated with 1 of 3 different anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) compounds (17 alpha-methyltestosterone, methandrostenolone, or nandrolone decanoate) for 6 weeks. In each experiment, subjects received daily injections of a high, medium, or low dose of AAS or the oil vehicle. The AAS effects on body weight in gonadectomized male rats were modest, and no effects on locomotor activity were observed. The AAS compounds administered at doses comparable with human abuse levels were not equipotent in maintaining male sexual behavior patterns (nandrolone decanoate > methandrostenolone > 17 alpha-methyltestosterone). In addition, the behavioral actions of AAS compounds did not parallel stimulation of sexual accessory glands. The authors reported that this study is the first to quantify the dose-response characteristics of individual AAS compounds with regard to these behavioral and endocrine measures.