21: This is your brain on steroids

It's well established that steroid use is associated with many adverse healthy outcomes, but what does it actually do to your brain?

Dan and James discuss an interesting new paper that compared brain structure in long-term steroid users and non-using weightlifters.

Some of the topics discussed:

• A summary of the study
• How are steroids typically used?
• What are the differences in use between sports?
• The recruitment of 'real' users
• James gives Dan a surprise Norwegian test (he doesn't do too well)
• The things Dan and James liked about the study (hint: many things)
• Steroid use in women
• Dose-dependent effects of steroids
• Folk beliefs surrounding steroid use
• James' goal of making his cat as jacked as possible
• If you have a great study, there's no need to oversell
• James' experience of participating in a growth hormone trial

Links

• The paper

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000632231632529X

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