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PATHOLOGICAL GAMBLING: A WINDOW INTO THE ADDICTED BRAIN
Project Approved 2007-08
Dr. Matthew Tata (Principal Investigator)
Department of Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge
Dr. Robert J. Williams
School of Health Sciences, U of Lethbridge
Dr. Robert Sutherland
Department of Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge
The purpose of this Small Research Grant proposal is to fund pilot studies in preparation for a Major Research Grant application. The first step involves the development of two simulated gambling paradigms suitable for use in neuroimaging experiments and recording of brain responses to wins and losses in these paradigms. This proposal represents the first step in a multifaceted approach to study addiction in general, with pathological gambling as a specific focus.
Status (Complete)
This pilot grant achieved the following objectives:
A. Develop and test a computer-based version of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) for later use with Pathological Gamblers.
The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is a well-known neuropsychiatric test in which participants successively choose cards from one of four decks. Two decks are high-risk/high-reward and two decks are low-risk/low-reward. Over the very long run, selection of the low-risk decks is advantageous Healthy participants learn this contingency with experience, however Pathological Gamblers have been shown to be deficient in this kind of learning. Working with a computer programmer, we implemented the IGT with flexible parameters such as win/loss rates on a per-deck basis. We pilot tested this software on a large group of normal undergraduate students. Results were as predicted based on prior research. The majority of participants exhibited implicit learning of the relative tasks associated with each “virtual” deck. We are now ready to use this test to assess implicit learning of risk in a pathological gamblers group.
B. Develop and test a computer-based VLT-like gambling game for use with the Dense-Array EEG system at the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience.
When players in a gambling game are given feedback about whether they have won or lost the previous bet, a series of stereotypical electrical responses are generated in the brain. We hypothesize that the underlying neurobiological processes may be atypical in pathological gamblers. Our goal was to develop a gambling paradigm that could reliably elicit these feedback-related responses so that we can use these as indicators of brain function in pathological gamblers. The functional neuroscience of reward processing in the human brain is still in its infancy. Thus, a secondary goal was a basic research effort to further characterize these electrical responses in a group of healthy controls.
The paradigm consisted of a main screen on which players chose to place either a “high” or “low” bet. They then clicked on a “play” button with the computer mouse. After a brief delay they were presented with a green “win” or a red “lose” rectangle and were then asked to return to the main screen. The brain activity immediately following this feedback signal was our main interest. High bets offered more reward, but also entailed a greater chance of losing the bet. These contingencies closely match those of the IGT for “Bad” and “Good” deck choices, respectively.
This software is fully functional and is yielding excellent results in the EEG lab. We have already successfully used this software to carry out an experiment in healthy control participants to determine the brain region(s) responsible for registering wins and losses.
Undergraduate student Greg Christie was accepted to present this work at the Rising Stars of Research conference in Vancouver, B.C. (August 2008).
Oberg, S., Christie, G.J. & Tata, M.S. (2011). Problem gamblers exhibit reward hypersensitivity in media frontal cortex during gambling. Neuropsychologia, 49(13), 3768-3775. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.09.037
The Alberta Gambling Research Institute provides grant funding to support peer-endorsed academic investigations into many aspects of gambling research. The contents, recommendations, and findings of the associated research reports, posted on this website, represent the views of the researcher(s).
Last Updated: 12/30/11
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