MAOA-L carriers are better at making optimal financial decisions under risk
Abstract
Genes can affect behaviour towards risks through at least two distinct neurocomputational mechanisms: they may affect the value assigned to different risky options, or they may affect the way in which the brain adjudicates between options based on their value. We combined methods from neuroeconomics and behavioural genetics to investigate the impact that the genes encoding for monoamine oxidase-A (MAOA), the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) and the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) have on these two computations. Consistent with previous literature, we found that carriers of the MAOA-L polymorphism were more likely to take financial risks. Our computational choice model, rooted in established decision theory, showed that MAOA-L carriers exhibited such behaviour because they are able to make better financial decisions under risk, and not because they are more impulsive. In contrast, we found no behavioural or computational differences among the 5-HTT and DRD4 polymorphisms.
Additional Information
© 2010 The Royal Society. Received October 22, 2010. Accepted November 12, 2010. Advance online article: Published online before print December 8, 2010. Financial support from Betty and Gordon Moore Foundation (A.R., C.C.) is gratefully acknowledged.Attached Files
Supplemental Material - rspb20102304supp1.pdf
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Additional details
- PMCID
- PMC3107654
- Eprint ID
- 21436
- DOI
- 10.1098/rspb.2010.2304
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20101220-110227095
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- Created
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2010-12-20Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-09Created from EPrint's last_modified field