Fig. 3

Effects of psychoactive drugs on testicular integrity and function. Psychoactive drugs promote increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the testes that overwhelms the scavenging capacity of the protective testicular antioxidant system, leading to oxidative stress. These drugs also increase the accumulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, resulting in cytokine storms. Testicular oxidative stress could be a cause and/or a consequence of the cytokine storm; this leads to a vicious cycle of oxido-inflammatory state that disrupts hypothalamic-pituitary–testicular axis and sperm integrity, resulting in altered testicular function viz. downregulation of the release of gonadotropins and testicular testosterone biosynthesis, and impaired spermatogenesis and reduced sperm quality