Produced by the stomach and pancreas, ghrelin is nicknamed the "hunger hormone" because it stimulates appetite and is linked to the feeling of satiety. In a new study, presented at the Endocrine Society's annual meeting (ENDO 2021), researchers have found a link between this hormone and financial decision-making.
Ghrelin signals the brain to eat and can modulate brain pathways that control reward processing, the study authors detail in a release. Ghrelin levels thus fluctuate throughout the day, depending on food intake and metabolism.
The study was conducted with 84 participants aged 10 to 22 years: 50 of them had an eating disorder, such as anorexia nervosa, while the other 34 participants were healthy. The research team measured blood levels of ghrelin before and after a so-called "standardized" meal, which was the same for all participants, who had also fasted previously. After the meal, the participants took a test of hypothetical financial decisions, called the "delay discounting task." They were asked to make a series of choices to indicate their preference for a small but immediate monetary reward, or a larger but delayed amount of money. In other words, for example, choose between receiving $20 today or $80 in the next 14 days.
More Impulsive Choice When Ghrelin Levels Are Higher
Healthy girls and young women with higher ghrelin levels were more likely to choose the immediate but smaller monetary reward rather than waiting for a larger sum of money, the researchers reported. This preference indicates more impulsive choices, Plessow said.
Verdict: Healthy girls and young women with higher ghrelin levels were more likely to choose the immediate but smaller monetary reward, rather than waiting for a larger sum of money. According to the researchers, these results indicate more impulsive choices, possibly due to the high levels of ghrelin.
No such association was observed in participants with an eating disorder. Note that anorexia is known to be associated with ghrelin resistance, so this finding may be a new indicator of a disconnect between ghrelin signaling and this eating behavior.
"Our results indicate that ghrelin may play a broader role in human reward-related behavior and decision-making, such as monetary choices, than previously recognized," commented study co-author Franziska Plessow. "This will hopefully inspire future research on its role in food-independent human perception and behavior," she concluded.
Source : Eurekalert
