Do YOU have ‘risk taking’ genes? Researchers find variations linked to everything from risky sex to getting drunk and driving fast cars
- There is no specific ‘risk gene, they believe the 124 genetic variants discovered can make people more prone to risky behavior
- Studied speeding, drinking, tobacco and cannabis consumption, and with riskier investments and sexual behaviors
Researchers have found a set of genes they say are linked to our willingness to take risks.
While they say there is no specific ‘risk gene, they believe the 124 genetic variants they discovered can make people more prone to risky behavior.
The study, published in the journal Nature Genetics, shows evidence of shared genetic influences across both an overall measure of risk tolerance and many specific risky behaviors.
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San Diego researchers found genetic variants tend to be associated with risky behaviors, such as speeding, drinking, tobacco and cannabis consumption, and with riskier sexual behaviors.
WHAT IS RISKY BEHAVIOUR?
The team measured participants’ overall risk tolerance based on self-reports.
They found that genetic variants associated with overall risk tolerance tend to also be associated with more risky behaviors, such as speeding, drinking, tobacco and cannabis consumption, and with riskier investments and sexual behaviors.
‘Being willing to take risks is essential to success in the modern world,’ said the at University of California San Diego School of Medicine’s Abraham Palmer, a co-author of the paper.
‘But we also know that taking too many risks, or not giving enough weight to the consequences of risky decisions, confers vulnerability to smoking, alcoholism and other forms of drug addiction.’
The researchers say that while no variant on its own affects a particular person’s risk tolerance or penchant for making risky decisions — such as drinking, smoking, speeding — and non-genetic factors matter more for risk tolerance than genetic factors.
They say the finds open up new avenues for research into risk taking.
The team hopes to understand the fundamental molecular and cellular processes that shape human behavior, and learn how to prevent and treat drug abuse.
‘Risk-taking is thought to play a role in many psychiatric disorders,’ said co-author Murray Stein of UC San Diego School of Medicine.
‘For example, patients with anxiety disorders may perceive increased risk in certain situations and therefore avoid them unnecessarily.
‘Understanding the genetic basis for risk tolerance is critical to understanding these disorders and developing better treatments.’
The team measured participants’ overall risk tolerance based on self-reports.
They found that genetic variants associated with overall risk tolerance tend to also be associated with more risky behaviors, such as speeding, drinking, tobacco and cannabis consumption, and with riskier investments and sexual behaviors.
Risky behaviors, such as speeding, drinking, tobacco and cannabis consumption, and with riskier investments and sexual behaviors, were studied
They also found shared genetic influences on overall risk tolerance and several personality traits and neuropsychiatric traits, including ADHD, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia.
The effects of each of the 124 genetic variants on an individual basis are all very small, but the researchers found their combined impact can be significant.
‘The most important variant explains only 0.02 percent of the variation in overall risk tolerance across individuals,’ said senior author Jonathan Beauchamp, PhD, assistant professor of economics at the University of Toronto.
‘However, the variants’ effects can be combined to account for greater variation in risk tolerance.’
The results also pinpointed the areas of the brain involved in risky behavior.
‘Our results point to the role of specific brain regions — notably the prefrontal cortex, basal ganglia and midbrain — that have previously been identified in neuroscientific studies on decision-making,’ Beauchamp said.
‘They conform with the expectation that variation in risk tolerance is influenced by thousands, if not millions, of genetic variants.’
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