Cortisol boosts risky decision-making behavior in men but not in women
Cortisol boosts risky decision-making behavior in men but not in women
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DOI：
10.1016/j.psyneuen.2017.07.240
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发表时间：
2017-10-01
影响因子：
3.7
通讯作者：
Schwabe, Lars
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kluen, Lisa Marieke;Agorastos, Agorastos;Schwabe, Lars
急性应激可能会加剧男性的风险决策，而对女性则没有这种影响。尽管初步证据将应激的这些性别特异性效应与应激引起的皮质醇变化联系起来，但升高的皮质醇是否确实足以促进冒险行为，潜在的皮质醇效应是否取决于同时的去甲肾上腺素能激活，以及皮质醇和去甲肾上腺素能激活是否对男性和女性的冒险行为产生不同影响尚不清楚。因此，在本实验中，我们着手阐明皮质醇和去甲肾上腺素能刺激对男性和女性风险决策的影响。在一个完全交叉、安慰剂对照、双盲设计中，男性和女性参与者在完成气球模拟风险任务（一种经过验证的冒险行为测量方法）之前，口服安慰剂、氢化可的松、育亨宾（一种导致去甲肾上腺素能刺激增加的α - 2 - 肾上腺素受体拮抗剂）或两种药物。总体而言，参与者的选择是对风险敏感的，这体现在高风险条件下与中低风险条件相比反应减少。然而，皮质醇导致男性的冒险行为显著增加，而对女性的冒险行为没有影响。育亨宾没有这种影响，皮质醇的性别特异性效应也不受育亨宾的调节。我们的数据表明，皮质醇促进男性的冒险行为，但对女性没有这种作用。皮质醇对冒险行为的这种差异效应可能导致应激下风险决策的性别差异。
Acute stress may escalate risky decision-making in men, while there is no such effect in women. Although first evidence links these gender-specific effects of stress to stress-induced changes in cortisol, whether elevated cortisol is indeed sufficient to boost risk-taking, whether a potential cortisol effect depends on simultaneous noradrenergic activation, and whether cortisol and noradrenergic activation exert distinct effects on risk-taking in men and women is unknown. In this experiment, we therefore set out to elucidate the impact of cortisol and noradrenergic stimulation on risky decision-making in men and women. In a fully-crossed, placebo-controlled, double-blind design, male and female participants received orally either a placebo, hydrocortisone, yohimbine, an alpha-2-adrenoceptor-antagonist leading to increased noradrenergic stimulation, or both drugs before completing the balloon analogue risk task, a validated measure of risk-taking. Overall, participants' choice was risk sensitive as reflected in reduced responding in high- compared to moderate- and low-risk conditions. Cortisol, however, led to a striking increase in risk-taking in men, whereas it had no effect on risk-taking behavior in women. Yohimbine had no such effect and the gender-specific effect of cortisol was not modulated by yohimbine. Our data show that cortisol boosts risk-taldng behavior in men but not in women. This differential effect of cortisol on risk-taking may drive gender differences in risky decision-making under stress.