Hi,

I would like to share a pretty cool study with you regarding caffeine, 5AR, DHT, T, allopreg, progesterone and pregnenolone all in the brain.

Caffeine-induced increases in the brain and plasma concentrations of neuroactive steroids in the rat. - PubMed - NCBI


From the full study:

"...The injection of caffeine (25 to 100 mg/kg IP) resulted in dose-dependent increases in the cerebral cortical concentrations of pregnenolone, progesterone, and allopregnanolone that were apparent after 30 min (Fig. 1). The effects of caffeine on the cortical concentrations of these three steroids were already significant (72, 90, and 47%, respectively) at the dose of 25 mg/kg, with the greatest observed effects (188, 388, and 71%, respectively) apparent at the dose of 100 mg/kg."

So, at the highest dose, which translates to about 1,200mg of caffeine for a human (single/bolus dose), levels of pregnenolone almost tripled, levels of progesterone almost quadrupled, and allopregnanolone almost doubled.

Original thread: https://raypeatforum.com/community/t...he-brain.3583/

The dose is big but you can work your way up higher or even to lower and use things like GABA agonists like niacinamide and herbs or even aspirin to counteract any of the stress response from the caffeine along with being properly fueled. I originally came across this because I was using topical caffeine on my head and face for hair and skin benefits but I also felt much better after applying it even mentally.