Molecular insights into chronotype and time-of-day effects on decision-making

Abstract

Recent reports highlight that human decision-making is influenced by the time of day and whether one is a morning or evening person (i.e., chronotype). Here, we test whether these behavioral effects are associated with endogenous biological rhythms. We asked participants to complete two well-established decision-making tasks in the morning or evening: the matrix task (an ethical decision task) and the balloon analog risk task (BART; a risk-taking task), and we measured their chronotype in two ways. First, participants completed a self-report measure, the Horne-Östberg Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ). Second, we measured the expression of two circadian clock-regulated genes—Per3 and Nr1d2—from peripheral clock cells in participants’ hair follicle samples. Using a cosinor model, we estimated the phase of the peripheral clock and assigned RNA chronotypes to participants with advanced (larks) or delayed (owls) phases. The behavioral data were analyzed independently for self-reported (MEQ) and RNA-based chronotypes. We find that significant chronotype and/or time-of-day effects between larks and owls in decision-making tasks occur only in RNA-based chronotypes. Our results provide evidence that time-of-day effects on decision-making can be explained by phase differences in oscillating clock genes and suggest that variation in the molecular clockwork may influence inter-individual differences in decision-making behavior.

Diurnal Preference and Grey Matter Volume in a Large Population of Older Adults: Data from the UK Biobank

“…Interpretation of the above findings is limited due to the relatively small number of studies and, to date, lack of replication. Nevertheless, these data complement previous behavioural work demonstrating effects of diurnal preference on cognition, emotional processing [21][22][23], reward processing and risk-taking [24,25] and epidemiological studies reporting eveningness/late chronotype as a risk factor for a number of psychiatric disorders [7,26].…”

The relevance of sleep and circadian misalignment for procrastination among shift workers

“…Ingram et al . () replicated this finding with ribonucleic acid (RNA)‐based chronotyped individuals: Late chronotypes were more likely to behave unethically in the morning, and early chronotypes were more likely to behave unethically in the evening. Moreover, Ingram et al .…”

Biological Clocks and Rhythms of Anger and Aggression

“…Specifically, young to middle-aged adults identifying as evening types tend to score higher on self-report scales of impulsivity, state and trait expressions of anger, and irritability (Park et al, 2015 ; Hwang et al, 2016 ; however, see Chrobak et al, 2017 ), and children and adolescents who are evening types are more likely to be rated by parents or teachers as displaying rule-breaking and externalizing behaviors such as conflict with others, lying, screaming, or swearing compared with individuals who identify as being morning types (reviewed in Schlarb et al, 2014 ). Interesting experiments also suggest that chronotype may interact with time of day to influence the likelihood of displaying socially transgressive behavior such as cheating: for example, young adults are more likely to lie about their success on monetarily rewarded tasks, like self-reported puzzle solving or dice throwing scores, if they are tested at a time of day that does not coincide with their chronotype (i.e., if morning-type people are tested in the late evening; Gunia et al, 2014 ; Kouchaki and Smith, 2014 ; Ingram et al, 2016 ).…”

“…Interestingly, loci were also identified near genes implicated in the regulation of serotonin activity ( 5htr6 ) as well as GABAergic activity in brain ( plcl1 ; nol4 ), suggesting that the genetic profile that influences morningness or eveningness preference could also involve differences in the activation or sensitivity of these neurotransmitter systems (Hu et al, 2016 ; Jones et al, 2016 ). At a behavioral level, chronotype influences changes in cognitive alertness across the day, whereby performances on tests of memory function, reaction time and decision making are worse if one is tested at a time of day that does not align with self-reported morningness/eveningness preference or phase of the genetic circadian clock (May, 1999 ; Ingram et al, 2016 ). This worsening of cognitive performance outside of one’s self-identified “optimal” time may increase the likelihood of poorer decision making and impulsiveness, and in turn predispose the expression of anger or hostility in the face of challenging or frustrating circumstances.…”