Effects of mineralocorticoid-receptor stimulation on risk taking behavior in young healthy men and women

Abstract

Risk taking is influenced by stress, with riskier decisions after exposure to an acute stressor and consecutively elevated cortisol levels. In the brain, cortisol acts on two receptors with different functional profiles: the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR).In the current study we investigated the effect of MR stimulation on risk taking behavior in 80 young healthy participants (40 women, mean age=23.9). We administered 0.4mg fludrocortisone, a MR agonist, in a between-subjects, placebo controlled design. Subsequently, participants conducted an established risk taking paradigm, the Balloon-Analogue-Risk-Task (BART). We also used two questionnaires to assess risk taking and decision behavior as trait measures.We found a treatment effect with riskier decisions in the fludrocortisone group. Furthermore, we found a sex effect with more risk taking in men. There was no statistically significant interaction between both factors.Our results indicate that acute MR stimulation leads to riskier decisions in women and men. Our findings argue for an important role of the MR in decision making processes.