title: Neuroanatomy accounts for age-related changes in risk preferences.
abstract: Many decisions involve uncertainty, or 'risk', regarding potential outcomes, and substantial empirical evidence has demonstrated that human aging is associated with diminished tolerance for risky rewards. Grey matter volume in a region of right posterior parietal cortex (rPPC) is predictive of preferences for risky rewards in young adults, with less grey matter volume indicating decreased tolerance for risk. That grey matter loss in parietal regions is a part of healthy aging suggests that diminished rPPC grey matter volume may have a role in modulating risk preferences in older adults. Here we report evidence for this hypothesis and show that age-related declines in rPPC grey matter volume better account for age-related changes in risk preferences than does age per se. These results provide a basis for understanding the neural mechanisms that mediate risky choice and a glimpse into the neurodevelopmental dynamics that impact decision-making in an aging population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Trinity College, 300 Summit Street, Hartford, Connecticut 06106, USA.|Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington Place, Room 809, New York, New York 10003, USA.
authors.forename: Michael A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Grubb
authors.affiliation: School of Economics, University of Sydney, Room 370, Merewether Building (H04), Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia.
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tymula
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK.|Vision Science and Optometry, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan 5290002, Israel.
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gilaie-Dotan
authors.affiliation: Center for Neural Science, New York University, 4 Washington Place, Room 809, New York, New York 10003, USA.|Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of Decision Making, New York University, 300 Cadman Plaza West, Suite 702, Brooklyn, New York 11201, USA.
authors.forename: Paul W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Glimcher
authors.affiliation: Section of Comparative Medicine and Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, PO Box 208016, New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA.
authors.forename: Ifat
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Levy
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012201:Reward; D012309:Risk-Taking; D035501:Uncertainty