Gambling could physically alter the structure of the brain, according to new findings published in the journal Neuron.
Researchers using MRIs and other brain-scanning technologies found that risk-seeking individuals have more gray matter and more connections between regions of the brain linked to individual differences in the degree to which a person accepts risk.
“Just by looking at these features of your brain, we could have a reasonable idea if you are someone who will take lots of risk or not,” said University of Pennsylvania Professor Joseph Kable, the study’s lead author.
The report was backed up by results from interviews with 108 young adults who were asked several questions involving their comfort with financial choices, each involving various levels of risk and reward, thus identifying individuals ranging from extremely risk-averse to those considered active risk-seekers.
The researchers said this could lead possibly lead to new treatments for gambling addiction through drugs or other therapies.
“The idea of using these brain markers and pairing them with some questionnaire or other assessments may help determine a better, more well-rounded sense of your tolerance for risk,” Kable said. “Perhaps we can get a better assessment for someone’s economic risk tolerance to provide the best advice possible for that particular individual.”
The Neuron article said the researchers plan on collaborating with financial planning organizations to see how these brain-system findings can be used as a marker for risk tolerance involving larger economic-based decisions.
