Summary: A new study links risk aversion to changes in gray matter volume in the right posterior parietal cortex.
Source: University of Sydney.
Our brain’s changing structure, not simply getting older and wiser, most affects our attitudes to risk, according to new research.
The University of Sydney’s Dr Agnieszka Tymula has for years been studying the factors that influence human decision-making. Until now, researchers could not say whether our tendency to make fewer risky decisions as we age was due to the wisdom of growing older, or our brain structures.
Published in Nature Communications this week, Dr Tymula and her co-authors from New York University, Yale University, University College London and Trinity College show risk aversion is better explained by changes in grey matter volume in an area in the brain’s right posterior parietal cortex, rather than by age itself.
“We know that as people age, they tend to become more averse to taking risks,” said Dr Tymula. “Yet, it seems there is something to the saying that everybody ages at a different pace. Our research suggests the speed at which our brain’s structure changes has a greater impact on our tolerance of risk than chronological age.”
In an experiment, the researchers asked more than 50 adults aged 18 to 88 to make choices between a guaranteed gain of $5 or ambiguous and risky lotteries with a payout of up to $120. Older participants preferred the guaranteed option, compared to younger participants.
Surprisingly, when researchers put these data into a model to determine what best predicted this change in preference, they found it was primarily driven by the neuronal density – the thickness and thinness of grey matter – in this brain region, rather than by age.
The results are published on December 14 in the high-impact journal, Nature Communications.
“Globally, we are experiencing an unprecedented demographic shift with people over 60 expected to outnumber children in only 30 years. Understanding how such a shift will affect decisions made in our societies on a political and economic level will be hugely important,” said Dr Tymula.
“When we choose our life partners, make a bet with a colleague, invest in a stock or vote in presidential elections, we cannot predict with certainty how these decisions will affect us and others. Understanding the brain’s structure can help us predict how our own and others’ decisions will change as our brain ages.”
Funding: The study was funded by National Institutes of Health.
Source: Luke O’Neill – University of Sydney
Image Source: NeuroscienceNews.com image is credited to Levy et al./Nature Communications.
Original Research: Full open access research for “Neuroanatomy accounts for age-related changes in risk preferences” by Michael A. Grubb, Agnieszka Tymula, Sharon Gilaie-Dotan, Paul W. Glimcher and Ifat Levy in Nature Communications. Published online December 13 2016 doi:10.1038/ncomms13822
[cbtabs][cbtab title=”MLA”]University of Sydney. “Brain Structure Best Explains Our Dwindling Tolerance of Risk.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 13 December 2016.
<https://neurosciencenews.com/neuroanatomy-risk-decision-making-5740/>.[/cbtab][cbtab title=”APA”]University of Sydney. (2016, December 13). Brain Structure Best Explains Our Dwindling Tolerance of Risk. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved December 13, 2016 from https://neurosciencenews.com/neuroanatomy-risk-decision-making-5740/[/cbtab][cbtab title=”Chicago”]University of Sydney. “Brain Structure Best Explains Our Dwindling Tolerance of Risk.” https://neurosciencenews.com/neuroanatomy-risk-decision-making-5740/ (accessed December 13, 2016).[/cbtab][/cbtabs]
Abstract
Neuroanatomy accounts for age-related changes in risk preferences
Many decisions involve uncertainty, or ‘risk’, regarding potential outcomes, and substantial empirical evidence has demonstrated that human aging is associated with diminished tolerance for risky rewards. Grey matter volume in a region of right posterior parietal cortex (rPPC) is predictive of preferences for risky rewards in young adults, with less grey matter volume indicating decreased tolerance for risk. That grey matter loss in parietal regions is a part of healthy aging suggests that diminished rPPC grey matter volume may have a role in modulating risk preferences in older adults. Here we report evidence for this hypothesis and show that age-related declines in rPPC grey matter volume better account for age-related changes in risk preferences than does age per se. These results provide a basis for understanding the neural mechanisms that mediate risky choice and a glimpse into the neurodevelopmental dynamics that impact decision-making in an aging population.
“Neuroanatomy accounts for age-related changes in risk preferences” by Michael A. Grubb, Agnieszka Tymula, Sharon Gilaie-Dotan, Paul W. Glimcher and Ifat Levy in Nature Communications. Published online December 13 2016 doi:10.1038/ncomms13822
