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In a new research, it was found that testosterone levels might improve mental functions. The study published in an issue of Harvard Men’s Health Watch showed that testosterone, the male sex hormone, could affect men’s cognitive performance.

It is commonly known that with the advancement of age the body’s attributes and mental function level change to a greater extent. With growing age the capacity of learning becomes slow and we often forget the details. These changes lead to “senior moment” in healthy elders and to cognitive impairment and dementia in others.

In the study researchers discovered that the decline of testosterone level with age and mental functions had some connectivity. For instance, in midlife the higher testosterone level is linked with better preservation of tissue in some parts of the brain while in advancing age, the increased level of the hormone is associated with better performance on cognitive tests.

From Science Daily:

When we think about the powers of testosterone, we usually do not consider mental processes. However, research suggests that testosterone levels may affect men’s cognitive performance, reports the January 2008 issue of Harvard Men’s Health Watch.

All the body’s attributes change with age, and mental functions are no exception. Memory is the most fragile mental function. With age, new learning is slower, new information is processed less carefully, and details often slip. These changes give rise to the “senior moment” in healthy elders and to cognitive impairment and dementia in others.

Testosterone levels decline with age, just when memory begins to slow. Might falling hormone levels account for some of the problem? Perhaps, says Harvard Men’s Health Watch. The data are far from conclusive, but studies have found some connections. For instance, higher testosterone levels in midlife have been linked to better preservation of tissue in some parts of the brain. And in older men, higher testosterone levels have been associated with better performance on cognitive tests.

Whatever the results of the study showed, one question is still remains unanswered that do the treatments use for reducing testosterone can lead to cognitive decline? Besides this, the study also raises the question that whether testosterone therapy may improve mental function in healthy older men or even can be used for those with cognitive impairment.

However, the research warned that high testosterone levels might prove harmful as well. In this regard, Harvard Men’s Health Watch suggested that till more studies were done, men should not use testosterone or any other androgen to improve mental function.