Propecia and Brain Function

I am a 23 year old male who has been using propecia for one year. I wanted some clarification on whether or not propecia can have an effect on brain function. I have read various sites that claim it does. Some users post confusing scientific data related to rats and state that it proves their allegations. They claim that propecia has caused, “brain fog, memory problems, aniexty, and depression” to name a few side effects.

In your expert opinion, can daily 1mg doses of finasteride change brain function? Specifically, change GABA function. Am I at risk if I continue to take the medication? If not, why do so many users claim to be negatively effected by this drug?

Please note that the use of the Internet for researching such reports may be biased towards sensationalism or focusing on the unusual. The reports of mood changes with Propecia (finasteride) seem credible, after all, since it does cause hormone changes in the body. For example, we have seen major mood alterations in women with mild hormone fluctuations. Propecia will alter hormone balances and this could be claimed to impact brain function, because I would think that mood alterations are connected with brain function. With regard to “brain fog” (confusion, forgetfulness) though, well, I really don’t know what it is that you are addressing and there is no way to really know what it does to the brain in any meaningful study that is currently available in the medical literature.