Emotional Blunting
A narrowed range in both directions: less low, but also less warmth, less connection and less feeling for other people. Distinct from loss of pleasure, which is about reward specifically. Worth separating because the person experiencing it often rates it as an improvement while the people around them do not.
Relationships
2 connectionsEmotional Blunting reduces risk of
Dopamine Signalling
How strongly dopamine is signalling, mostly in the reward and motivation circuits. This is the route by which a compound that raises prolactin ends up flattening drive: dopamine holds prolactin down, so a sustained prolactin rise is read backwards as reduced dopaminergic tone.
Limbic System
The emotional core of the brain, and androgen-receptor rich. This is where mood, threat response and aggression are set, and where steroid mental effects are thought to land.