Addiction remains a mystery for social scientists and psychologists – but some forms are easier to understand than others. Experts have come up with effective hypotheses about drug and alcohol addiction, while problem gambling remains enigmatic.
This week, researchers in The Netherlands have shed some light on gambling addiction that may help to improve treatment methods.
Credentials
The study, titled Pathological choice: the neuroscience of gambling and gambling addiction, was carried out by researchers at Radboud University Nijmegen in The Netherlands.
They collaborated with research teams at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Psychology, Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Institute for Brain Research in Beijing.
Current Theories About Problem Gambling
At the moment, the prevailing theory about problem gambling is that gambling addicts are hypersensitive to the thrill that comes along with winning money.
It is thought to be a similar reaction to drugs or alcohol, as addicted individuals prefer the high that they experience when indulging – but research has produced conflicting results with regards to this theory.
Lead researcher Guillaume Sescousse came up with a new hypothesis, which questioned whether problem gamblers are actually less sensitive to typically rewarding items rather than being hypersensitive to the thrill of gambling.
The Experiment
To test this theory, Dr Sescousse recruited 18 men that could be classified as pathological gamblers. 20 healthy control participants were also recruited.
All participants were asked to lie down inside of an MRI machine that would record their brain activity.
They were instructed to press a button as quickly as possible in order to either win money or to see photos of nearly naked women.
The faster the button was pushed, the more motivated the participant was to engage in the specific activity that was offered.
Results
Although most of the gamblers stated that they valued money and sex equally, the findings have proven this false. When trying to win money, the problem gamblers’ reaction time was 4% faster than when they were trying to see the erotic photos. Their responses to the sexual pictures were significantly diminished when compared to their responses to winning money.
The researchers also noted the distinction between primary rewards, such as food and sex, and secondary rewards, such as money and power. The difference between the two is that the former is a primal key to survival while latter is something that must be learned to be seen as a reward.
When monitoring the brains of problem gamblers, the research team noted that the part of the brain that responds to sex lit up when they were prompted by money. As such, they seem to see money as a primary reward.
