Compulsive gambling overstimulates the brain, triggers an impulse in the brain's defensive reaction, weakening the reward system, and eventually reducing the level of “pleasure” that the individual experiences. The brain is conditioned and craves more dopamine to activate its reward system. Studies have shown that the release of dopamine during play occurs in areas of the brain similar to those that are activated by using drugs of abuse. In fact, just like drugs, repeated exposure to gambling and uncertainty produce lasting changes in the human brain.
These reward pathways, similar to those seen in people suffering from drug addiction, become hypersensitive. Animal studies suggest that these brain changes due to uncertainty may even increase players' cravings and cravings for addictive drugs. Much of the research supporting the classification of gambling disorder with other addictions comes from brain imaging studies and neurochemical tests. These have revealed common aspects in the way gambling and drugs of abuse work in the brain, and in the way the brains of addicts respond to those signals.
Evidence indicates that gambling activates the brain's reward system in the same way that a drug does. When you play, your brain releases dopamine, the neurotransmitter that makes you feel good and that excites you. You would expect to feel excited only when you win, but your body produces this neurological response even when you lose. When we win the game, the brain releases a chemical that makes us feel good called dopamine.
Scientists have long known that the prefrontal cortex is involved in complex decision-making. An early clue was the case of Phineas Gage, a 19th-century railroad foreman who, in some accounts, becomes wildly impulsive after an explosion drove an iron rod through the front of his brain. Hsu believes that the rapid repetition of past decisions could explain why the prefrontal cortex is involved in conditions such as depression and addiction, which involve a deliberate neglect of negative consequences, an apathy towards risk. Although old-fashioned casino designs crammed as many gambling activities as fit in small, square rooms, modern casino designs incorporate large, open spaces with plenty of opportunities to take a break.
In addition to the computational characterization of the game offered by behavioral economics, psychological models of play have also highlighted the central role of cognitive distortions during play. These factors are broken down by game-specific factors (such as game environment, game exposure, game types, and game resources), as well as general factors (such as cultural, social, psychological and biological). These distortions refer to the way the player thinks about randomness, chance and skill (Ladouceur and Walker, 1996; Clark, 20) and encourage an inappropriately high expectation of winning during the game. Another study published last week, also in Current Biology, adds an additional layer to the neuroscience of gambling risk: the feeling of regret.
This differential response was correlated with the severity of the symptoms of the game and was accompanied by an equally reduced behavioral motivation to obtain erotic rewards. First, gambling is a naturalistic and generalized example of risky decision-making, and therefore, gambling can provide a paradigm for the investigation of human-choice behavior and “irrationality”. If you have noticed that the game prevents you from achieving the things you want, it's time to tackle it. Both animal studies and human studies have found that the level of activity in certain parts of the brain can directly influence gambling behaviors.
Since gambling triggers the same release of dopamine as drug use, compulsive gamblers can also experience withdrawal symptoms when they stop. For example, subjects generally refuse mixed bets that offer a 50-50% chance of winning or losing a certain amount of money. Reduced activity in the prefrontal cortex may also explain why people with a gambling disorder tend to have more difficulty controlling their impulses than other people. Several studies have shown that problem gamblers and drug addicts showed lower activation of the prefrontal cortex in response to gambling-related signals.
Along the way he began attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings, seeing a therapist and rebuilding his life. Evidence from brain studies points to many shared characteristics of gambling disorder and other addictions. As a result, in troubled players, losing awakens the need to continue playing, rather than the disappointment that could lead you to leave, a phenomenon known as chasing losses. .
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