Hormonal Dynamics in Neurofinance: The Roles of Testosterone (and Estrogen)
Öz
This paper proposes an integrative neurofinancial framework to explain how gonadal hormones – primarily testosterone, alongside estrogen – shape economic and financial decision-making. Moving beyond the conventional view of testosterone as a simple “risk hormone,” the study argues that its primary role lies in facilitating the translation of motivation and desire into action. Drawing on evidence from neurofinance, behavioral endocrinology, and cognitive neuroscience, the paper synthesizes findings on how testosterone interacts with dopaminergic, serotonergic, and stress-related systems to modulate initiative, reward sensitivity, threat processing, and behavioral inhibition. At the neural level, testosterone influences mesocorticolimbic valuation circuits while attenuating amygdala–prefrontal connectivity related to threat sensitivity. These mechanisms help explain behavioral patterns such as elevated trading frequency, overconfidence, escalation dynamics, and speculative market behavior. Importantly, hormonal effects are shown to be non-linear and context-dependent, varying with cortisol levels, developmental factors (2D:4D ratio), sex, and social environment. The paper advances a non-deterministic, multi-level framework linking endocrine dynamics to individual and collective financial behavior.
Anahtar Kelimeler
Neurofinance, Testosterone, Estrogen, Aggression, 2D:4D Ratio
Etik Beyan
Çalışmanın, yalnızca yayınlanmış bilgiler kullanılarak hazırlanmış bir derleme çalışması olması nedeniyle etik kurul izni ve/veya yasal/özel izin gerektirmeyen bir çalışma olduğunu beyan ederim.
Kaynakça
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