IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH MONEY, JUST THE RISK:

The riskier the trades, the more the brain craves them, scientists say (Jenny Anderson, February 7, 2008, NY Times)

A small group of scientists, including some psychologists, say they are starting to discover what many Wall Street professionals have long suspected - that people are hard-wired for money. The human brain, these researchers say, responds to high-stakes trading just as it does to the lure of sex.

And the riskier the trades, the more the brain craves them.

That is no surprise to Brian Knutson, a professor at Stanford University in California and a pioneer in neuroeconomics, an emerging field that combines psychology, neuroscience and economics to examine how the brain makes decisions.

Knutson has sent volunteers through high-power imaging machines to map their brains as they trade. He concludes that sometimes, people get high on making money. "The more you think you can gain from the risk, the more you take the risk and the more activation in the circuitry," Knutson said.

Much of the allure of fantasy baseball resides in the trading, the higher the risk of the deal the more fun and the more recognition from peers.

Posted by Orrin Judd at February 7, 2008 8:14 AM