Abstract
By analogy to drug dependence, it has been speculated that the underlying pathology in pathological gambling is a reduction in the sensitivity of the reward system. Studying pathological gamblers and controls during a guessing game using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we observed a reduction of ventral striatal and ventromedial prefrontal activation in the pathological gamblers that was negatively correlated with gambling severity, linking hypoactivation of these areas to disease severity.
Publication types
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Comparative Study
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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Adult
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Behavior, Addictive / pathology
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Brain Mapping
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Case-Control Studies
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Functional Laterality
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Gambling*
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Humans
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Limbic System / blood supply
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Limbic System / pathology
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Limbic System / physiopathology*
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Magnetic Resonance Imaging / methods
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Male
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Middle Aged
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Neuropsychological Tests
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Oxygen / blood
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Prefrontal Cortex / blood supply
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Prefrontal Cortex / pathology
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Prefrontal Cortex / physiopathology
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Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
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Regression Analysis
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Reward*
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Risk-Taking*