Combined Effects of Glucocorticoid and Noradrenergic Activity on Loss Aversion

Abstract

Loss aversion is a well-known behavioral regularity in financial decision making, describing humans' tendency to overweigh losses compared to gains of the same amount. Recent research indicates that stress and associated hormonal changes affect loss aversion, yet the underlying neuroendocrine mechanisms are still poorly understood. Here, we investigated the causal influence of two major stress neuromodulators, cortisol and noradrenaline, on loss aversion during financial decision making. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled between-subject design, we orally administered either the α2-adrenergic antagonist yohimbine (increasing noradrenergic stimulation), hydrocortisone, both substances, or a placebo to healthy young men. We tested the treatments' influence on a financial decision-making task measuring loss aversion and risk attitude. We found that both drugs combined, relative to either drug by itself, reduced loss aversion in the absence of an effect on risk attitude or choice consistency. Our data suggest that concurrent glucocorticoid and noradrenergic activity prompts an alignment of reward- with loss-sensitivity, and thus diminishes loss aversion. Our results have implications for the understanding of the susceptibility to biases in decision making.

Genetic underpinnings of risky behaviour relate to altered neuroanatomy

“…Additionally, our results underscore the long-suspected role of the hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in regulating risk-related behaviours, in line with hormonal studies that link risky behaviour and sensation seeking to stress responsivity 36,37,[43][44][45] .…”

Does testosterone impair men's cognitive empathy? Evidence from two large-scale randomized controlled trials

“…9 These include RMET baseline scores, portion A or B, 2D : 4D and treatment interactions, cognitive reflection task (CRT) scores, maths abilities, mood and affective measures, treatment expectancy, age, marital status, sexual preference and all other measured hormones that were not influenced by testosterone treatment and may affect cognition and decision-making (e.g. cortisol [36,37]). The CRT control was added because performance is impaired by exogenous testosterone [30] and people with ASD outperform non-ASD age-matched controls [38].…”

Testosterone, Cortisol and Financial Risk-Taking

“…This will differentiate the effects of acute from chronic stress, since catecholamines play a lesser role in the latter. There is a recent report that increased loss aversion after cortisol administration only occurred when combined with simultaneous noradrenergic activation (Margittai et al, 2018 ).…”