The effect of the 7R allele at the DRD4 locus on risk tolerance is independent of background risk in Senegalese fishermen

Abstract

It has been shown that living in risky environments, as well as having a risky occupation, can moderate risk-tolerance. Despite the involvement of dopamine in the expectation of reward described by neurobiologists, a GWAS study was not able to demonstrate a genetic contribution of genes involved in the dopaminergic pathway in risk attitudes and gene candidate studies gave contrasting results. We test the possibility that a genetic effect of the DRD4-7R allele in risk-taking behavior could be modulated by environmental factors. We show that the increase in risk-tolerance due to the 7R allele is independent of the environmental risk in two populations in Northern Senegal, one of which is exposed to a very high risk due to dangerous fishing.