No stomach for the ups and downs of the financial market? Or maybe you lost everything in the global economic downturn? Genes important for mood and risk-taking likely played a role, US researchers reported recently.
They found surprisingly clear-cut links between two genes and the willingness of people to gamble with money. The study, published in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE, supports others that point to brain chemicals and their roles in financial risk-taking.
The genes involve dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked with movement and risk-taking, and serotonin, a neurotransmitter important in controlling mood. People with the high-risk version of the dopamine gene tended to invest in risky but potentially lucrative propositions, while those with the high anxiety version of serotonin managed their money more carefully. Camelia Kuhnen and Joan Chiao of Northwestern University in Chicago reported.
"We gave volunteers money and asked them to invest the money as they wanted," Kuhnen said. The 60 volunteers, mostly students, also gave saliva samples for a DNA test. A third of the volunteers had the high-risk profile and another third had the high anxiety profile.
Although two different genes were involved, the two types did not overlap in this group, Kuhnen said. People with the anxious version of the serotonin transporter gene 5_HTTLPR invested 28 per cent less money in risky investments than people with the non-anxious version.
People with the high risk-taking version of the dopamine gene DRD4 invested about 25 per cent more in risky investments than those with the more common version, the researchers said.
"As we sort through the devastating consequences of this financial crisis, it might be useful to note how our genetic heritage is influencing our economic behavior," Chiao said.
They found surprisingly clear-cut links between two genes and the willingness of people to gamble with money. The study, published in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE, supports others that point to brain chemicals and their roles in financial risk-taking.
The genes involve dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked with movement and risk-taking, and serotonin, a neurotransmitter important in controlling mood. People with the high-risk version of the dopamine gene tended to invest in risky but potentially lucrative propositions, while those with the high anxiety version of serotonin managed their money more carefully. Camelia Kuhnen and Joan Chiao of Northwestern University in Chicago reported.
"We gave volunteers money and asked them to invest the money as they wanted," Kuhnen said. The 60 volunteers, mostly students, also gave saliva samples for a DNA test. A third of the volunteers had the high-risk profile and another third had the high anxiety profile.
Although two different genes were involved, the two types did not overlap in this group, Kuhnen said. People with the anxious version of the serotonin transporter gene 5_HTTLPR invested 28 per cent less money in risky investments than people with the non-anxious version.
People with the high risk-taking version of the dopamine gene DRD4 invested about 25 per cent more in risky investments than those with the more common version, the researchers said.
"As we sort through the devastating consequences of this financial crisis, it might be useful to note how our genetic heritage is influencing our economic behavior," Chiao said.
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