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The effect of hydrocortisone administration on intertemporal choice
Michala Iben Riis-Vestergaard1, Vanessa van Ast2, Sandra Cornelisse3
1Department of Psychology and Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA; Busara Center for Behavioral Economics, Nairobi, Kenya.
Psychoneuroendocrinology
|January 8, 2018
Summary
Acute stress, via corticosteroids, increases preference for immediate rewards over delayed ones. This effect is time-dependent, highlighting stress
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychology
- Endocrinology
Background:
- Intertemporal choices involve trade-offs between immediate and future outcomes.
- Stress activates the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, releasing corticosteroids.
- Corticosteroids have rapid non-genomic and slower genomic effects.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of corticosteroids on intertemporal choice.
- To determine the time-dependent effects of hydrocortisone on decision-making.
Main Methods:
- Healthy men received hydrocortisone or placebo in a double-blind design.
- Intertemporal choices were measured 15 or 195 minutes post-administration.
- Decisions involved trade-offs between smaller sooner rewards and larger later rewards.
Main Results:
- Hydrocortisone administration 15 minutes before testing increased preference for immediate rewards.
- This effect was not observed when testing occurred 195 minutes after hydrocortisone.
- Acute corticosteroid exposure significantly increased temporal discounting.
Conclusions:
- Physiological effects of acute stress, mediated by corticosteroids, can alter intertemporal decision-making.
- The impact of corticosteroids on temporal discounting is time-dependent.
- These findings link acute stress responses to altered economic choices.
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