FREE WILL

DR AOIFE MCLYSAGHT, PROF FIONA NEWELL, PROF HUGH GARAVAN, PROF LUKE O’NEILL, PROF KEN WOLFE

Are we genetically predisposed to taking risks? Risk taking is linked to the hormone Dopamine. Recent research suggests that individuals that are genetically predisposed to a higher number of Dopamine receptors are more likely to take risks in a whole host of different scenarios from finance and health to drug taking and political beliefs. At HUMAN+, we will take saliva samples from human subjects to investigate the distribution of a particular allele in the Dopamine receptor D4. Should we engineer a society of risk taking adventurers or seek a balance between the risk loving and risk averse? Do we have any free will in determining the course we choose and the actions we take or is it all decided before we are born by our genetic make up? The results of this research will be analysed following HUMAN+ and made available online.