Polygenic contributions to performance on the Balloon Analogue Risk Task.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Behavioral Genetics
• Psychiatric Genetics

Background:

• Risky decision-making is a heritable trait observed across psychiatric disorders.
• The genetic underpinnings of risky decision-making remain largely unexplored.
• The Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) is a validated measure of risky decision-making behavior.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the genetic architecture of risky decision-making as measured by the BART.
• To identify genetic variants associated with BART performance.
• To explore the genetic overlap between risky decision-making and psychiatric phenotypes.

Main Methods:

• Two independent samples of European ancestry performed the BART.
• Polygenic risk scores (PRS) were constructed and tested for replication.
• A genome-wide MEGA-analysis combined samples to test genetic correlations with self-report measures and psychiatric diagnoses.

Main Results:

• PRS for BART performance predicted task performance in replication samples (r=0.13, p=1.2e-5).
• A genome-wide significant SNP (rs12023073) near IGSF21 was identified, requiring replication.
• PRS for cannabis use, but not self-reported risk-taking or psychiatric disorder status, predicted BART behavior.

Conclusions:

• Risky decision-making, as assessed by the BART, exhibits a polygenic architecture.
• Genetic factors influencing BART performance show overlap with those influencing cannabis use.
• Further research is needed to validate the identified genetic associations and explore their functional implications.