Endogenous plasma testosterone levels and commission errors in women: A preliminary report

A correlation between elevated testosterone and aggressive behavior has been demonstrated in animals and to a lesser degree in humans, primarily in the context of dominance. Some aggression, namely non-premeditated aggression, is characterized by impaired impulse control. Real-world aggressive histories and self-reported impulsivity have correlated with commission errors (failures to withhold responses to nontarget stimuli) in versions of the continuous performance test (CPT). To begin exploring whether testosterone may play a role in aggression due more to a direct relationship with impaired impulse control, we related plasma total testosterone concentrations of 27 psychiatrically healthy women to commission errors in two Variants of the CPT - with and without interstimulus distracters. Controlling for age and IQ, testosterone did not relate to rates of comet detections in either task, but correlated positively with commission errors in the distracter CPT variant. In light of the fact previous studies find commission errors on the CPT are associated with impulsivity, the results of this study support a positive relationship between testosterone and impulsivity. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.