TY - JOUR T1 - A Genetically Mediated Bias in Decision Making Driven by Failure of Amygdala Control JF - The Journal of Neuroscience JO - J. Neurosci. SP - 5985 LP - 5991 DO - 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0407-09.2009 VL - 29 IS - 18 AU - Jonathan P. Roiser AU - Benedetto de Martino AU - Geoffrey C. Y. Tan AU - Dharshan Kumaran AU - Ben Seymour AU - Nicholas W. Wood AU - Raymond J. Dolan Y1 - 2009/05/06 UR - http://www.jneurosci.org/content/29/18/5985.abstract N2 - Genetic variation at the serotonin transporter-linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) is associated with altered amygdala reactivity and lack of prefrontal regulatory control. Similar regions mediate decision-making biases driven by contextual cues and ambiguity, for example the “framing effect.” We hypothesized that individuals hemozygous for the short (s) allele at the 5-HTTLPR would be more susceptible to framing. Participants, selected as homozygous for either the long (la) or s allele, performed a decision-making task where they made choices between receiving an amount of money for certain and taking a gamble. A strong bias was evident toward choosing the certain option when the option was phrased in terms of gains and toward gambling when the decision was phrased in terms of losses (the frame effect). Critically, this bias was significantly greater in the ss group compared with the lala group. In simultaneously acquired functional magnetic resonance imaging data, the ss group showed greater amygdala during choices made in accord, compared with those made counter to the frame, an effect not seen in the lala group. These differences were also mirrored by differences in anterior cingulate–amygdala coupling between the genotype groups during decision making. Specifically, lala participants showed increased coupling during choices made counter to, relative to those made in accord with, the frame, with no such effect evident in ss participants. These data suggest that genetically mediated differences in prefrontal–amygdala interactions underpin interindividual differences in economic decision making. ER -