Integrating behavioral economics and behavioral genetics: delayed reward discounting as an endophenotype for addictive disorders.

ABSTRACT: Delayed reward discounting is a behavioral economic index of impulsivity, referring to how much an individual devalues a reward based on its delay in time. As a behavioral process that varies considerably across individuals, delay discounting has been studied extensively as a model for self-control, both in the general population and in clinical samples. There is growing interest in genetic influences on discounting and, in particular, the prospect of discounting as an endophenotype for addictive disorders (i.e., a heritable mechanism partially responsible for conferring genetic risk). This review assembles and critiques the evidence supporting this hypothesis. Via numerous cross-sectional studies and a small number of longitudinal studies, there is considerable evidence that impulsive dis

SUBMITTER: MacKillop J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3881595 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature