Study Finds Potential Link Between Anxiety, Low Testosterone 

A researcher at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev has found a link between anxiety disorders and poor activity in a brain receptor called TACR3, which leads to low levels of testosterone production. 

The study by Prof. Shira Knafo, head of the university’s Molecular Cognitive Lab, found that male rodents with high levels of anxiety had low levels of TACR3 in the hippocampus region of the brain. 

Previous research has shown that abnormalities in genes linked to TACR3 led to a condition called congenital hypogonadism, which causes reduced testosterone. 

Prior studies have also shown that young men with low levels of testosterone can often experience increased anxiety and depression – a finding that sparked the researcher’s interest in the area. 

Knafo’s research involved placing rodents in a maze test while scientists measured their anxiety. After the test, the animals’ hippocampus was examined to determine which genes were active at different levels of the rodents’ anxiety, with TACR3 inactivity being particularly notable.  

The study claims that deficiencies caused by TACR3 inactivity could be treated with testosterone, which theoretically could reduce depression and anxiety in adult human males. 
The findings were published recently in the Molecular Psychiatry journal.