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Study Older people are less willing to take risks due to brain changes
Older people are usually a little more cautious and conservative compared to young people. Is that due to the wisdom and experience of age? Researchers have now found that as you age, the level of a chemical in the brain decreases. As a result, our behavior is less impulsive and we take less risks to reach our goals.
Researchers at University College London have now found in a study that reducing the level of dopamine in older people means they are less likely to take risks. In addition, older people also show less impulsive behavior. The physicians published the results of their study in the journal "Current Biology".
Old people are said to generally take less risks. But is this statement correct? And if so, what risks do our older citizens avoid? (Image: WoGi / fotolia.com) Study examines more than 25,000 people
The new study looked at more than 25,000 people aged 18 to 69 years. It turned out that older people are less likely to take risks to win in a smartphone app, explain the authors. The older subjects did not differ in their playing behavior of younger participants when it came to lose risky moves less points. It has long been widely accepted that older people take fewer risks. However, the new study now shows exactly which risks the older volunteers avoid, the researchers report.
So-called happiness hormone influences our behavior in terms of profits
The decline in dopamine levels in the elderly leads to a steady decline in risky decisions. Dopamine levels decline by about ten percent every decade after adulthood, explain the physicians. Volunteers gained more money and were willing to play more risk-averse, if they were given a drug that significantly raises dopamine levels, the experts add. Dopamine is popularly referred to as happiness hormone. The material rewards us, for example, for profits due to risky behavior in the game.
Older people are less attracted to big rewards
Because our dopamine levels decline in old age, we probably will not experience the same rewarding happiness. That's why we're adapting to our behavior and avoiding riskier moves. Robb Rutledge from University College London. The effects we observed in the experiment may be due to a decrease in dopamine, the researchers said. The assumption is also supported by the fact that dopamine drugs affect our decision-making, the experts add. Older people were no longer so willing to take risks, but also made no more mistakes than the young people in the test. Older people just seem less attracted to big rewards. That's why these subjects take fewer risks, trying to get the bigger rewards, Dr. Rutledge.
Researchers test risk-taking through a gambling app
In the experiment, three different experiments were run through. The subjects started with one of the gambling app with 500 points. The aim of the test subjects in the first attempt (winning test) was to win as many points as possible. To do this they had to participate in 30 different test situations, which they always chose between a secure profit option and a risky 50/50 chance, the scientists explain. Players could either choose a guaranteed number of points or use the 50/50 chance to earn higher winnings. Of course, they also had the risk of not gaining anything, the experts add.
Test results of the gambling app
The study looked at how risk-taking was in the second attempt (loss test), when players were sure to lose a certain number of points or lose more or none of their points of view through gambling, the researchers explain. In the final mixed test, players could choose not to score points, or take a risk and win or lose their points. On average, about 56 percent of the loss study and 67 percent of the mixed study chose the gambling option among all age groups, explain the physicians. About 72 percent of the 18-24 year olds still use gambling in the earnings study. The value fell in older people between 60 and 69 years but 64 percent. The loss of dopamine might explain why older people are less attracted by the promise of potential gains, the authors explain.
Decrease in dopamine levels makes older people less receptive to positive approaches
Decisions about potential losses were unaffected because several important processes influence losses that are not related to our aging, say the experts. Negative effects are more likely to help convince older people, while an optimistic approach and big potential rewards appeal to younger people, the researchers add. Our new findings provide a possible neuroscientific explanation for the fact that the natural decline in dopamine levels makes older people less receptive to positive approaches compared to younger-age decision-making. Rutledge. (As)