Stress hormones predict hyperbolic time-discount rates six months later in adults

Taiki Takahashi; Mizuho Shinada; Keigo Inukai; Shigehito Tanida; Chisato Takahashi; Nobuhiro Mifune; Haruto Takagishi; Yutaka Horita; Hirofumi Hashimoto; Kunihiro Yokota; Tatsuya Kameda; Toshio Yamagishi

arXiv · 1111.6489

Stress hormones predict hyperbolic time-discount rates six months later in adults

Taiki Takahashi·Mizuho Shinada·Keigo Inukai·Shigehito Tanida·Chisato Takahashi·Nobuhiro Mifune·Haruto Takagishi·Yutaka Horita·Hirofumi Hashimoto·Kunihiro Yokota·Tatsuya Kameda·Toshio Yamagishi

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Abstract

Objectives: Stress hormones have been associated with temporal discounting. Although time-discount rate is shown to be stable over a long term, no study to date examines whether individual differences in stress hormones could predict individuals' time-discount rates in the relatively distant future (e.g., six month later), which is of interest in neuroeconomics of stress-addiction association. Methods: We assessed 87 participants' salivary stress hormone (cortisol, cortisone, and alpha-amylase) levels and hyperbolic discounting of delayed rewards consisting of three magnitudes, at the time-interval of six months. For salivary steroid assays, we employed a liquid chromatography/ mass spectroscopy (LC/MS) method. The correlations between the stress hormone levels and time-discount rates were examined. Results: We observed that salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) levels were negatively associated with time-discount rates in never-smokers. Notably, salivary levels of stress steroids (i.e., cortisol and cortisone) negatively and positively related to time-discount rates in men and women, respectively, in never-smokers. Ever-smokers' discount rates were not predicted from these stress hormone levels. Conclusions: Individual differences in stress hormone levels predict impulsivity in temporal discounting in the future. There are sex differences in the effect of stress steroids on temporal discounting; while there was no sex defference in the relationship between sAA and temporal discounting.

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Taiki Takahashi, Mizuho Shinada, Keigo Inukai, Shigehito Tanida, Chisato Takahashi, Nobuhiro Mifune, Haruto Takagishi, Yutaka Horita, Hirofumi Hashimoto, Kunihiro Yokota, Tatsuya Kameda, Toshio Yamagishi. 2011-11-22. Stress hormones predict hyperbolic time-discount rates six months later in adults. https://arxiv.org/abs/1111.6489

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