Gray Matter Volume in Brain Region Can Predict Risk Tolerance

Using whole-brain analysis, scientists discovered that the gray matter volume of a region in the right posterior parietal cortex of the brain was significantly predictive of individual risk attitudes. Men and women with higher grey matter volume in this region exhibited less risk aversion. The findings may clarify why risk tolerance decreases with age.

These new findings show that indeed is a link between brain structure and tolerance of risk, new research suggests. Dr. Agnieszka Tymula, an economist at the University of Sydney (Australia), is one of the lead authors of a new study that identifies what might be considered the first stable “biomarker” for financial risk-attitudes. “Individual risk attitudes are correlated with the grey matter volume in the posterior parietal cortex suggesting existence of an anatomical biomarker for financial risk-attitude,” said Dr. Tymula. This means tolerance of risk “could potentially be measured in billions of existing medical brain scans.”

However, she has cautioned against making a causal link between brain structure and behavior. More research will be needed to establish whether structural changes in the brain lead to changes in risk attitude or whether that individual’s risky choices alter his or her brain structure, or both. “The findings fit nicely with our previous findings on risk attitude and ageing. In our Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2013 paper, we found that as people age they become more risk averse," she said. “From other work we know that cortex thins substantially as we age. It is possible that changes in risk attitude over lifespan are caused by thinning of the cortex.”

Study participants included young adult men and women from the northeastern United States. Participants made a series of choices between monetary lotteries that varied in their level of risk, and the research team conducted traditional anatomic MRI brain scans. The findings were first gathered in a group of 28 participants, and then validated in a second, independent, group of 33 participants.

The findings are published in the September 10, 2014, issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.

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